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Paper: A Possible Solution to the Mass-Loss Problem in M-type AGB Stars
Volume: 445, Why Galaxies Care about AGB Stars II: Shining Examples and Common Inhabitants
Page: 365
Authors: Olofsson, H.; Ramstedt, S.; Sacuto, S.; Maercker, M.; Höfner, S.; Kerschbaum, F.
Abstract: Mass loss is a fundamental, observationally well-established feature of AGB stars, but many aspects of this process are not yet understood. To date, self-consistent dynamical models of dust-driven winds reproducing the observed mass-loss rates seem only possible for M-type stars if the grains in the close circumstellar environment grow to larger sizes than previously assumed. In order to study the grain-size distribution where the mass loss is initiated, high-spatial-resolution interferometry observations are necessary. We have observed two M-type stars using the VLTI/MIDI instrument to constrain the dust-grain sizes through modeling the 10 μm silicate feature. Here we present preliminary results.
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