Mass Loss from R Coronae Borealis Stars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

Among the hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars are the R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars, a small group of carbon-rich supergiants. About 50 RCB stars are known in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. Their defining characteristics are hydrogen deficiency and unusual variability; RCB stars undergo massive declines of up to 8 mag due to the formation of carbon dust at irregular intervals. The mechanism of dust formation around RCB stars is not well understood but the dust is thought to form in or near the atmosphere of the stars. We report new observations of mass loss around the RCB stars. We have mapped the infrared and visible shells around several RCB stars using Spitzer/MIPS, VLTI/MIDI and HST/ACS. We also present evidence for variable winds seen as P-Cygni or asymmetric blue-shifted profiles in the He I 10830 line in twelve RCB stars obtained with UKIRT. We are modeling the dust shells and winds of the RCB stars to determine their mass-loss rates, and to better understand their evolutionary status. This work was supported by Spitzer Space Telescope contract 1287678 issued by Caltech/JPL.

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