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| Paper: |
Asymmetric Dusty Winds and Circumstellar Shells of Massive Stars |
| Volume: |
313, Asymmetrical Planetary Nebulae III |
| Page: |
551 |
| Authors: |
Gehrz, R.D. |
| Abstract: |
Key information provided by panchromatic imaging and spectroscopic observations of massive stars is reviewed. Several massive stars have been found to be surrounded by asymmetric Post-Main-Sequence (Post-MS) dusty winds and fossil dust shell remnants. These structures are similar to those that apparently shape the development of Planetary Nebulae (PNe's), and, in the case of these massive stars, they may shape the ejecta of the supernova (SN) remnants that result from their explosive iron-rich core collapse. We describe the geometric properties of the Post- MS winds observed in Eta Carinae and RY Scuti, the two most luminous and massive stellar systems now known, and draw parallels between these structures and those that characterize the Post-AGB stars that are the precursors of PNe's. The circumstellar material is shown to contain some of the important building blocks of the solar system. The ejection events in these massive stellar systems are shown to occur at intervals of the order of a hundred years. We speculate that rotation and binarism may be involved in shaping the Post-MS winds of Eta Carinae and RY Scuti. |
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