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Paper: What is Heating Arcturus' Wind?
Volume: 448, 16th Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stars, Stellar Systems, and the Sun
Page: 691
Authors: O'Gorman, E.; Harper, G. M.
Abstract: Arcturus (α Bootis: K2 III) is one of the brightest and best studied evolved cool stars, and like most other evolved K and M stars its wind driving mechanism still remains a mystery. To find clues to the underlying causes we are undertaking an analysis of the wind thermal balance. We present the first results of our study of red giant wind heating in the dust and molecule-free wind of Arcturus. The analysis focuses on the acceleration zone where most of the energy that drives the wind is being injected. The cooling agents include wind expansion, line emission from neutral and ionic species, and recombination while the stellar ultraviolet radiation field provides photo-electric heating. We examine the required additional heating to maintain the 8,000–10,000 K wind observed with the VLA, by evaluating ambipolar diffusion, turbulent heating and mechanical heating. Future EVLA and ALMA observations may allow us to refine this study.
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