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Paper: |
Probing Dust Production in the Local Group |
Volume: |
445, Why Galaxies Care about AGB Stars II: Shining Examples and Common Inhabitants |
Page: |
503 |
Authors: |
Sloan, G. C.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Groenewegen, M. A. T.; Lagadec, E.; Matsuura, M.; Wood, P. R.; van Loon, J. Th.; McDonald, I. |
Abstract: |
Observations of AGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds with the
Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope
have revealed that the rate of dust production by oxygen-rich
stars decreases in more metal-poor environments, while the
production of dust by carbon stars shows no detectable
dependence on metallicity. Observations in other Local Group
galaxies extend the lack of a dependence for carbon stars to
lower metallicities. Studies of low-mass oxygen-rich AGB
stars in Galactic globular clusters reinforce the metallicity
dependence detected in the Magellanic Clouds. Because the
AGB dominates dust input into the interstellar medium,
it follows that in more metal-poor galaxies, interstellar
dust will be more carbon rich. |
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