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In this work, we present the first AMBER observations, of the Wolf-Rayet and O (WR+O) star binary system y2 Velorum. The AMBER instrument was used with the telescopes UT2, UT3, and UT4 on baselines ranging from 46m to 85m. It delivered spectrally dispersed visibilities, as well as differential and closure phases, with a resolution R = 1500 in the spectral band 1.95-2.17 micron. We interpret these data in the context of a binary system with unresolved components, neglecting in a first approximation the wind-wind collision zone flux contribution. We show that the AMBER observables result primarily from the contribution of the individual components of the WR+O binary system. We discuss several interpretations of the residuals, and speculate on the detection of an additional continuum component, originating from the free-free emission associated with the wind-wind collision zone (WWCZ), and contributing at most to the observed K-band flux at the 5% level. The expected absolute separation and position angle at the time of observations were 5.1±0.9mas and 66±15° respectively. However, we infer a separation of 3.62+0.11-0.30 mas and a position angle of 73+9-11°. Our analysis thus implies that the binary system lies at a distance of 368+38-13 pc, in agreement with recent spectrophotometric estimates, but significantly larger than the Hipparcos value of 258+41-31 pc.

The structure and evolution of central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPNe) is reviewed. CSPNe represent the rapid transitional stage between the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and the white-dwarf domain. It is shown that the whole evolution off the AGB through the central-star regime depends on the evolutionary history. The detailed evolution into a white dwarf is controlled by the internal stellar structure which, in turn, is determined by the duration of the preceding AGB evolution and therefore by the AGB mass-loss history. The evolution of hydrogen-deficient central stars has been a matter of debate since many years. Convective overshoot appears to be a key ingredient to model these objects. Various thermal-pulse scenarios with inclusion of overshoot are discussed, leading to surface abundances in general agreement with those observed for Wolf-Rayet central stars., Comment: 8 pages, 4 postscript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry; invited review at IAU Symp. 209 "Planetary Nebulae", ASP, in press

Interferometric observations of stars in late stages of stellar evolution and the impact of VLTI observations are discussed. Special attention is paid to the spectral information that can be derived from these observations and on the corresponding astrophysical interpretation of the data by radiative transfer modelling. It is emphasized that for the robust and non-ambiguous construction of dust-shell models it is essential to take diverse and independent observational constraints into account. Apart from matching the spectral energy distribution, the use of spatially resolved information plays a crucial role for obtaining reliable models. The combination of long-baseline interferometry data with high-resolution single-dish data (short baselines), as obtained, for example, by bispectrum speckle interferometry, provides complementary information and will improve modelling and interpretation., Comment: 10 pages, 5 PostScript figures, seminar given at the EuroWinterSchool "Observing with the VLTI", Feb 3-8 2002, Les Houches (France), EAS Publication Series, in press; see also http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html

We present K'-band observations of five Mira stars with the IOTA interferometer. The interferograms were obtained with the FLUOR fiber optics beam combiner, which provides high-accuracy visibility measurements in spite of time-variable atmospheric conditions. For the M-type Miras X Oph, R Aql, RU Her, R Ser, and the C-type Mira V CrB we derived the uniform-disk diameters 11.7mas, 10.9mas, 8.4mas, 8.1mas, and 7.9mas (+/- 0.3mas), respectively. Simultaneous photometric observations yielded the bolometric fluxes. The derived angular Rosseland radii and the bolometric fluxes allowed the determination of effective temperatures. For instance, the effective temperature of R Aql was determined to be 2970 +/- 110 K. A linear Rosseland radius for R Aql of (250 +100/-60) Rsun was derived from the angular Rosseland radius of 5.5mas +/- 0.2mas and the HIPPARCOS parallax of 4.73mas +/- 1.19mas. The observations were compared with theoretical Mira star models of Bessel et al. (1996) and Hofmann et al. (1998). The effective temperatures of the M-type Miras and the linear radius of R Aql indicate fundamental mode pulsation., Comment: 12 pages, 4 postscript figures

We present new near-infrared (JHK) bispectrum speckle-interferometry monitoring of the carbon star IRC+10216 obtained between 1999 and 2001 with the SAO 6m telescope. The J-, H-, and K-band resolutions are 50mas, 56mas, and 73mas, resp. The total sequence of K-band observations covers now 8 epochs from 1995 to 2001 and shows the dynamic evolution of the inner dust shell. The present observations show that the appearance of the dust shell has considerably changed compared to the epochs of 1995 to 1998. Four main components within a 0.2" radius can be identified in the K-band images. The apparent separation of the two initially brightest components A and B increased from ~191mas in 1995 to ~351mas in 2001. Simultaneously, component B has been fading and almost disappeared in 2000 whereas the initially faint components C and D became brighter (relative to peak intensity). These changes can be related to changes of the optical depth caused, e.g., by mass-loss variations or new dust condensation in the wind. Our 2D radiative transfer model suggests that the observed relative motion of A and B is not consistent with the known terminal wind velocity of 15 km/s. The apparent motion with a deprojected velocity of 19 km/s on average and of recently 27 km/s appears to be caused by adisplacement of the dust density peak due to dust evaporation in the optically thicker and hotter environment. Our monitoring, covering more than 3 pulsation periods, shows that the structural variations are not related to the stellar pulsation cycle in a simple way. This is consistent with the predictions of hydrodynamical models that enhanced dust formation takes place on a timescale of several pulsation periods. The timescale of the fading of component B can well be explained by the formation of new dust in the circumstellar envelope., Comment: 11 pages including 6 PostScript figures; also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html; Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press

We present the first speckle interferometric observations of R CrB, the prototype of a class of peculiar stars which undergo irregular declines in their visible light curves. The observations were carried out with the 6m telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory near maximum light (V=7, 1996 Oct. 1) and at minimum light (V=10.61, 1999 Sep. 28). A spatial resolution of 75mas was achieved in the K-band. The dust shell around R CrB is partially resolved, and the visibility is approximately 0.8 at a spatial frequency of 10 cycles/arcsec. The two-dimensional power spectra obtained at both epochs do not show any significant deviation from circular symmetry. The visibility function and spectral energy distribution obtained near maximum light can be simultaneously fitted with a model consisting of the central star and an optically thin dust shell with density proportional to r^-2. The inner boundary of the shell is found to be 82Rstar (19mas) with a temperature of 920K. However, this simple model fails to simultaneously reproduce the visibility and spectral energy distribution obtained at minimum light. We show that this discrepancy can be attributed to thermal emission from a newly formed dust cloud., Comment: 9 pages including 10 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html

WR 118 is a highly evolved Wolf-Rayet star of the WC10 subtype surrounded by a permanent dust shell absorbing and re-emitting in the infrared a considerable fraction of the stellar luminosity. We present the first diffraction-limited 2.13micron speckle interferometric observations of WR 118 with 73 mas resolution. The speckle interferograms were obtained with the 6m telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory. The two-dimensional visibility function of the object does not show any significant deviation from circular symmetry. The visibility curve declines towards the diffraction cut-off frequency to 0.66 and can be approximated by a linear function. Radiative transfer calculations have been carried out to model the spectral energy distribution, given in the range of 0.5-25micron, and our 2.13micron visibility function, assuming spherical symmetry of the dust shell. Both can be fitted with a model containing double-sized grains (``small'' and ``large'') with the radii of a = 0.05micron and 0.38micron, and a mass fraction of the large grains greater than 65%. Alternatively, a good match can be obtained with the grain size distribution function n(a)~a^-3, with a ranging between 0.005micron and 0.6micron. At the inner boundary of the modelled dust shell (angular diameter (17 +/- 1)mas), the temperature of the smallest grains and the dust shell density are 1750K +/- 100K and (1 +/- 0.2)x10^-19 g/cm^3, respectively. The dust formation rate is found to be (1.3 +/- 0.5)x10^-7 Msol/yr assuming Vwind = 1200 km/s., Comment: 6 pages including 4 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

(abridged) CIT 3 is an oxygen-rich long-period variable evolving along the AGB and one of the most extreme infrared AGB objects. We present the first bispectrum speckle-interferometry observations of CIT 3 in the J-, H-, and K'-band (resolution: 48mas, 56mas, and 73mas). The interferograms were obtained with the Russian SAO 6m telescope. While CIT 3 appears almost spherically symmetric in the H- and K'-band, it is clearly elongated in the J-band along a symmetry axis of position angle -28 degr. Two structures can be identified: a compact elliptical core (eccentricity ~0.8) and a fainter north-western fan-like structure (full opening angle ~40 degr). Extensive radiative transfer calculations have been carried out and confronted with the spectral energy distribution, our 1.24, 1.65 and 2.12 micron visibility functions, and 11micron ISI interferometry. The best model refers to a cool central star (Teff=2250K) surrounded by an optically thick dust shell (tau_V = 30). The central-star diameter is 10.9mas and the inner dust shell diameter 71.9mas. The inner dust-shell rim is located at r_1=6.6 Rstar and has a temperature of T_1=900K. A two-component model existing of an inner uniform-outflow shell region (rho~1/r^2; r < 20.5 r_1) and an outer region with rho ~ 1/r^1.5 proved to give the best overall match of the observations. Provided the outflow velocity kept constant, the more shallow density distribution in the outer shell indicates that mass-loss has decreased with time in the past of CIT 3. Adopting vexp=20km/s, the termination of that mass-loss decrease and the begin of the uniform-outflow phase took place 87yr ago. The present-day mass-loss rate can be determined to be Mdot = (1.3-2.1) x 10^-5 Msol/yr for d=500-800pc., Comment: 10 pages including 5 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Structural and chemical changes during the AGB and post-AGB evolution are discussed with respect to two recent observational and theoretical findings. On the one hand, high-resolution infrared observations revealed details of the dynamical evolution of the fragmented, bipolar dust shell around the far-evolved carbon star IRC+10216 giving evidence for rapid changes of an already PPN-like structure during the very end of the AGB evolution. On the other hand, stellar evolution calculations considering convective overshoot have shown how thermal pulses during the post-AGB stage lead to the formation of hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars with abundance patterns consistent with those observed for Wolf-Rayet central stars., Comment: 8 pages including 4 PostScript figures; also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html; Proceedings of "Post-AGB Objects (Proto-Planetary Nebulae) as a Phase of Stellar Evolution", R. Szczerba, R. Tylenda, S.K. Gorny (eds.), in press

The evolution on the AGB and beyond is reviewed with respect to the origin of Wolf-Rayet central stars. We focus on thermal pulses due to their particular importance for the evolution of hydrogen deficient stars. It is shown that overshoot applied to all convection regions is a key ingredient to model these objects leading to intershell abundances already close to the surface abundances of Wolf-Rayet central stars. In contrast to standard evolutionary calculations, overshoot models do show dredge up for very low envelope masses and efficient dredge up was found even during the post-AGB stage. Three thermal pulse scenarios for Wolf-Rayet central stars can now be distinguished: an AGB Final Thermal Pulse (AFTP) occurring at the very end of the AGB evolution, a Late Thermal Pulse (LTP) occurring during the post-AGB evolution when hydrogen burning is still on, and a Very Late Thermal Pulse (VLTP) occurring on the cooling branch when hydrogen burning has already ceased. All scenarios lead to hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars with carbon and oxygen abundances as observed for Wolf-Rayet stars. Hydrogen is either diluted by dredge up (AFTP, LTP) or completely burnt (VLTP)., Comment: 14 pages, including 6 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html

(abridged) NML Cyg is a highly evolved OH/IR supergiant and supposed to be among the most luminous supergiants in the galaxy. We present the first diffraction limited 2.13micron observations of NML Cyg with 73mas resolution. The speckle interferograms were obtained with the SAO 6m telescope, image reconstruction is based on the bispectrum speckle interferometry method. Radiative transfer calculations have been carried out to model the spectral energy distribution, our 2.13micron visibility function, and mid-infrared visibility functions. The observed dust shell properties do not appear to be in accordance with single-shell models but seem to require multiple components. Considering previous periods of enhanced mass-loss, various density enhancements in the dust shell were taken into account. An extensive grid of models was calculated for different locations and strenghts of such superwind regions in the dust shell. To match the observations from the optical to the sub-mm domain requires at least two superwind regions embedded in the shell. The best model includes a dust shell with a temperature of 1000K at its inner radius of 6.2Rstar, a close embedded superwind shell extending from 15.5Rstar to 21.7Rstar with amplitude 10 (factor of density enhancement), and a far-out density enhancement at 186Rstar with amplitude 5. The angular diameter of the inner dust-shell rim amounts to 105mas. Within the various parts of the dust shell, 1/r^2 density distributions could be maintained differing only in their amplitude A. The present-day mass-loss rate was determined to be 1.2 10^-4 Msol/yr. The inner embedded superwind shell corresponds to a phase of enhanced mass-loss which began ~59yr ago and lasted for ~18yr, and the outer superwind region to a high mass-loss period which terminated 529yr ago., Comment: 12 pages including 13 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present computer simulations of interferometric imaging with the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Astronomical MultiBEam Recombiner (AMBER) phase-closure instrument. These simulations include both the astrophysical modelling of a stellar object by radiative transfer calculations and the simulation of light propagation from the object to the detector (through atmosphere, telescopes, and the AMBER instrument), simulation of photon noise and detector read-out noise, and finally data processing of the interferograms. The results show the dependence of the visibility error bars on the following observational parameters: different seeing during the observation of object and reference star (Fried parameters r_0,object and r_0,ref ranging between 0.9m and 1.2m), different residual tip-tilt error (delta_tt,object and delta_tt,ref ranging between 0.1% and 20% of the Airy disk diameter), and object brightness (K_object=0.7mag to 10.2mag, K_ref=0.7mag). Exemplarily, we focus on stars in late stages of stellar evolution and study one of its key objects, the dusty supergiant IRC+10420 that is rapidly evolving on human timescales. We show computer simulations of VLT interferometry (visibility and phase closure measurements) of IRC+10420 with two and three Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs; AMBER wide-field mode, i.e. without fiber optics spatial filters) and discuss whether the visibility accuracy is sufficient to distinguish between different theoretical model predictions., Comment: 11 pages including 6 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/publications.html, accepted for publication in Optical Engineering

Starting from the Helmholtz free energy we calculate analytically first- and second-order derivatives, as internal energy and specific heats, for the ideal system and the exchange and correlation interactions covering a broad range of degeneracy and relativity. The complex physics of Coulomb interactions is expressed by Pade Approximants, which reflect the actual state of our knowledge with high accuracy. We assume complete ionization and provide a base system of thermodynamical functions from which any other thermodynamical quantities can be calculated. We chose for the base system the free energy, the pressure, the internal energy, the isothermal compressibility (or density exponent), the coefficient of strain (or temperature exponent), and the isochoric specific heat. By means of the latter potentials entropy, isobaric specific heat and adiabatic temperature gradient can be determined. We give comparisons with quantities which are composed by numerical second-order derivatives of the free energy and show that numerical derivatives of the free energy as calculated, for instance, from EOS tables, may produce discontinuities for astrophysically relevant quantities as, e.g., the adiabatic temperature gradient. Adiabatic temperature gradients are shown for different chemical compositions (hydrogen, helium, carbon). Finally the used formalism of Pade Approximants allows immediate incorporation of recent results from many particle statistics., Comment: 17 pages including 20 PostScript figures; also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html; Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press

We present K-band observations of five Mira stars with the IOTA interferometer. The interferograms were obtained with the FLUOR fiber optics beam combiner which provides high-accuracy visibility measurements in spite of time-variable atmospheric conditions. For the Mira stars X Oph, R Aql, RU Her, R Ser, and V CrB we derived the uniform-disk diameters 11.7 mas, 10.9 mas, 8.4 mas, 8.1 mas, and 7.9 mas (+/-0.3 mas), respectively. Simultaneous photometric observations yielded the bolometric fluxes. The derived angular Rosseland radii and the bolometric fluxes allowed the determination of effective temperatures. For instance, the effective temperature of R Aql was determined to be 3072 K +/- 161 K. A Rosseland radius for R Aql of 250 Rsun +/- 63 Rsun was derived from the angular Rosseland radius of 5.5 mas +/- 0.2 mas and the HIPPARCOS parallax of 4.73 mas +/- 1.19 mas. The observations were compared with theoretical Mira star models of Bessel, Scholz and Wood (1996) and Hofmann, Scholz and Wood (1998)., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, see http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle, SPIE conf 4006 "Interferometry in Optical Astronomy", in press

We present computer simulations of interferometric imaging with the VLT interferometer and the AMBER instrument. These simulations include both the astrophysical modelling of a stellar object by radiative transfer calculations and the simulation of light propagation from the object to the detector (through atmosphere, telescopes, and the AMBER instrument), simulation of photon noise and detector read-out noise, and finally data processing of the interferograms. The results show the dependence of the visibility error bars on the following observational parameters: different seeing during the observation of object and reference star (Fried parameters r_0,object=2.4m, r_0,ref.=2.5m, different residual tip-tilt error (delta_tt,object=2% of the Airy disk diameter, delta_tt,ref.=0.1%), and object brightness (K_object=3.5 mag and 11 mag, K_ref.=3.5 mag). Exemplarily, we focus on stars in late stages of stellar evolution and study one of its key objects, the dusty supergiant IRC+10420 that is rapidly evolving on human timescales. We show computer simulations of VLTI interferometry of IRC+10420 with two ATs (wide-field mode, i.e. without fiber optics spatial filters) and discuss whether the visibility accuracy is sufficient to distinguish between different theoretical model predictions., Comment: 10 pages including 6 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html, SPIE Conf. Vol. 4006: Interferometry in Optical Astronomy, in press

We present high-resolution J-, H-, and K-band observations and the first H-K color image of the carbon star IRC +10216. The images were reconstructed from 6m telescope speckle interferograms using the bispectrum speckle interferometry method. The H and K images with resolutions between 70mas and 92mas consist of several compact components within a 0.2" radius and a fainter asymmetric nebula. The brightest four components are denoted with A to D in the order of decreasing brightness in the 1996 image. A comparison of our images from 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 gives - almost like a movie of five frames - insight into the dynamical evolution of the inner nebula. For instance, the separation of the two brightest components A and B increased from 191 mas in 1995 to 265 mas in 1998. At the same time, component B is fading and the components C and D become brighter. The X-shaped bipolar structure of the nebula, most prominently present in the J-band image, implies an asymmetric mass loss. Such asymmetries are often present in protoplanetary nebulae but are unexpected for AGB stars. IRC +10216 is thus likely to be very advanced in its AGB evolution, shortly before turning into a protoplanetary nebula. The cometary shapes of A in the H and J images and in the 0.79 micron and 1.06 micron HST images suggest that the core of A is not the central star, but the southern lobe of a bipolar structure. The position of the central star is probably at or near the position of component B, where the H-K color has a value of 4.2. If the star is at or near B, then the components A, C, and D are likely to be located at the inner boundary of the dust shell., Comment: 8 pages including 6 PostScript figures; also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html; Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press

We employed recently computed evolutionary white-dwarf models with helium cores, supplemented by heavier models with carbon-oxygen cores, in order to investigate the ages of millisecond pulsar systems based on the cooling properties of the compact companions. Contrary to the behaviour of more massive white dwarfs, the evolutionary speed of low-mass white-dwarf models is substantially slowed down by ongoing hydrogen burning. By comparing the cooling ages of these models with the spin-down ages of the pulsars for those systems for which reasonable information about the compact companions is available, we found good correspondence between both ages. Based on these models any revisions concerning the temporal evolution of millisecond pulsars do not appear to be necessary., Comment: 7 pages including 3 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present high-resolution J-, H-, and K-band observations of the carbon star IRC+10216. The images were reconstructed from 6 m telescope speckle interferograms using the bispectrum speckle interferometry method. The H and K images consist of several compact components within a 0.2" radius and a fainter asymmetric nebula. The brightest four components are denoted with A to D in the order of decreasing brightness. A comparison of our images gives - almost like a movie of five frames - insight to the dynamical evolution of the inner nebula. For instance, the separation of the two brightest components A and B increased by almost 40% from 191 mas in 1995 to 265 mas in 1998. At the same time, component B is fading and the components C and D become brighter. The X-shaped bipolar structure of the nebula implies an asymmetric mass-loss suggesting that IRC+10216 is very advanced in its AGB evolution, shortly before turning into a protoplanetary nebula. The cometary shape of component A suggests that the core of A is not the central star, but the southern lobe of a bipolar structure. The position of the central star is probably at or near the position of component B., Comment: 8 pages including 3 PostScript figures; also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html; Mem. Soc. Astron. Ital., in press

We calculated models of massive AGB stars with a self-consistent coupling of time-dependent mixing and nuclear burning for 30 isotopes and 74 reactions. Overshoot with an exponentially declining velocity field was considered and applied during all stages of evolution and in all convective regions. Very efficient 3rd dredge-up was found even overcompensating the growth of the hydrogen-exhausted core after a few thermal pulses. Hot bottom burning occurs for M>4Msol within the sequences with overshoot. Carbon star formation in these more massive AGB stars is delayed or even prevented by hot bottom burning despite the very efficient dredge-up. With the simultaneous treatment of mixing and burning the formation of Li-rich AGB stars due to the Cameron-Fowler mechanism was followed. For a 6Msol model the maximum Li abundance was found to be epsilon(Li7)=4.4., Comment: 8 pages including 5 PostScript figures; also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html; Mem. Soc. Astron. Ital., in press

We present a grid of evolutionary tracks for low-mass white dwarfs with helium cores in the mass range from 0.179 to 0.414 M_sun. The lower mass limit is well suited for comparison with white dwarf companions of millisecond pulsars (MSP). The derived cooling ages are of the order of 10^9 yrs due to residual nuclear burning. The cooling ages are consistent with age estimations of MSP systems based on the pulsars' spin-down. For example, for the system PSR 1012+5307 we derived a white dwarf cooling age of 6 +/-1 Gyr in good agreement with the spin-down age of 7 Gyr. For the companion mass we found M=0.19 +/- 0.02 M_sun. We studied other MSP systems as well selecting only systems with well given ages and/or masses, and determined the effective temperatures and surface gravities of the companion white dwarfs with the present evolutionary models., Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html, to appear in: Pulsar Astronomy - 2000 and Beyond, IAU Coll. 177, M. Kramer, N. Wex, R. Wielebinski (eds.), ASP Conf. Series

The concept of overshoot has already been considered for numerous cases in stellar evolution calculations. We explore the consequences of overshoot at the convection zone which forms during the He-flash (thermal pulse) in AGB stars. We find dramatic changes for the abundances within the intershell region as well as for the mechanism of the 3rd dredge-up. That means that both the predicted evolution of structural quantities as well as the chemical evolution at the surface will be different, if overshoot is considered. We also present evidence for the presence of overshoot during the He-flash from detailed model calculations of the post-AGB phase and the comparison with observations. The new evolutionary models show that a very late thermal pulse during the post-AGB evolution can bring the intershell material up to the surface with minimal modification due to convective H-burning. The good agreement of the surface abundances of these models with observed surface abundances of H-deficient post-AGB stars is interpreted as a strong support for the presence of overshoot during the thermal pulses of AGB stars., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, conference paper: 35th Liege Int. Astroph. Coll

We calculated a grid of evolutionary models for white dwarfs with helium cores (He-WDs) and investigated the occurrence of hydrogen-shell flashes due to unstable hydrogen burning via CNO cycling. Our calculations show that such thermal instabilities are restricted to a certain mass range (M=0.21...0.30Msun), consistent with earlier studies. Models within this mass range undergo the more hydrogen shell flashes the less massive they are. This is caused by the strong dependence of the envelope mass on the white dwarf core mass. The maximum luminosities from hydrogen burning during the flashes are of the order of 10^5 Lsun. Because of the development of a pulse-driven convection zone whose upper boundary temporarily reaches the surface layers, the envelope's hydrogen content decreases by Delta(X)=0.06 per flash. Our study further shows that an additional high mass-loss episode during a flash-driven Roche lobe overflow to the white dwarf's companion does not affect the final cooling behaviour of the models. Independent of hydrogen shell flashes the evolution along the final white dwarf cooling branch is determined by hydrogen burning via pp-reactions down to effective temperatures as low as 8000 K., Comment: 12 pages including 17 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present an evolutionary sequence of a low mass star from the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) through its post-AGB stage, during which its surface chemical composition changes from hydrogen-rich to strongly hydrogen-deficient as consequence of a very late thermal pulse, following the so-called born-again scenario. The internal structure and abundance changes during this pulse are computed with a numerical method which allows the physically consistent calculation of stellar layers where thermonuclear and mixing time scale are comparable - a situation which occurs when the helium flash driven convection zone extends to the hydrogen-rich surface layers during the pulse peak. The final surface mass fractions are [He/C/O]=[0.38/0.36/0.22], where the high oxygen abundance is due to diffusive overshoot employed during the AGB evolution. These models are the first to achieve general agreement with the surface abundance pattern observed in hydrogen-deficient post-AGB stars - e.g. the PG 1159 stars or the WR-type central stars of planetary nebulae -, confirming the born-again scenario with a physically consistent calculation and supporting the occurrence of convective overshooting in thermally pulsing AGB stars., Comment: 4 pages including 5 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/astro_literatur.html and from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Letters)

The hypergiant IRC+10420 is a unique object for the study of stellar evolution since it is the only object that is believed to be witnessed in its rapid transition from the red supergiant stage to the Wolf-Rayet phase. Its effective temperature has increased by 1000-2000K within only 20yr. We present the first speckle observations of IRC+10420 with 73mas resolution. A diffraction-limited 2.11 micron image was reconstructed from 6m telescope speckle data using the bispectrum speckle-interferometry method. The visibility function shows that the dust shell contributes 40% to the total flux and the unresolved central object 60%. Radiative transfer calculations have been performed to model both the spectral energy distribution and visibility function. The grain sizes, a, were found to be in accordance with a standard distribution function, n(a)~a^(-3.5), with 0.005 micron < a < 0.45 micron. The observed dust shell properties cannot be fitted by single-shell models but seem to require multiple components. At a certain distance we considered an enhancement over the assumed 1/r^x density distribution. The best model for both SED and visibility was found for a dust shell with a dust temperature of 1000K at its inner radius of 69Rstar. At a distance of 308Rstar the density was enhanced by a factor of 40 and and its density exponent was changed from x=2 to x=1.7. The shell's intensity distribution was found to be ring-like.The ring diameter is equal to the inner diameter of the hot shell (69mas). The diameter of the central star is 1mas. The two-component model can be interpreted in terms of a termination of an enhanced mass-loss phase roughly 60 to 90 yr (for d=5kpc) ago., Comment: 10 pages including 15 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/speckle/publications.html, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present high-resolution J-, H-, and K-band observations of the carbon star IRC+10216. The images were reconstructed from 6m telescope speckle interferograms using the speckle masking bispectrum method. The H image has the unprecedented resolution of 70 mas. The H and K images consist of at least five dominant components within a 0.21 arcsec radius and a fainter asymmetric nebula. The J-, H-, and K-band images seem to have an X-shaped bipolar structure. A comparison of our images from 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 shows that the separation of the two brightest components A and B increased from 193 mas in 1995 to 246 mas in 1998. The cometary shapes of component A in the H and J images and the 0.79 micron and 1.06 micron HST images suggest that the core of A is not the central star, but the southern (nearer) lobe of the bipolar structure. The position of the central star is probably at or near the position of component B, where the H-K color has its largest value of H-K = 4.2. If the star is located at or near B, then the components A, C, and D are located close to the inner boundary of the dust shell at separations of 200 mas = 30 AU (projected distance) = 6 stellar radii for a distance of 150 pc, in agreement with our 2-dimensional radiative transfer modelling. In addition to IRC+10216 we studied the stellar disks and the dust shells of several related objects. Angular resolutions of 24 mas at 700 nm or 57 mas at 1.6 micron were achieved., Comment: 6 pages including 3 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html, IAU Symp. 191 "AGB Stars", T. Le Bertre, A. Lebre, C. Waelkens (eds.), ASP Conf. Series, in press

Using the technique of Pade Approximants for the correlation contributions of charged particles we are able to reproduce complex mathematical expressions by simple algebraic formulas. The Pade formulas are analytical expressions, which interpolate between certain density-temperature regions and are characterized by exact asymptotics. We present a semi-relativistic description of the thermodynamics applicable for stellar interiors. Comparisons with equation-of-state data obtained by other calculational schemes are presented., Comment: 4 pages including 2 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html, accepted for publication in Contributions to Plasma Physics

We present seven evolutionary tracks for low-mass white dwarfs with helium cores, ranging in mass from 0.179 to 0.414 Msol. We generated the pre-white dwarf models from a 1 Msol sequence extending up to the tip of its red-giant branch by applying high mass-loss rates at appropriate positions, and we followed their evolution across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and down the cooling path. We discuss the internal structures and cooling properties of these new models and compare them with those of recently published models for low-mass white dwarfs which are based on simplified initial configurations. We also demonstrate that our new models seem to remove the apparent discrepancies between the characteristic ages of millisecond pulsars and the cooling ages of their white dwarf companions., Comment: 6 pages including 3 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html, 11th European Workshop on White Dwarfs, ed. Jan-Erik Solheim, ASP Conf. Series., in press

We investigate the influence of convective overshoot on stellar evolution models of the thermal pulse AGB phase with M_ZAMS = 3 Msol. An exponential diffusive overshoot algorithm is applied to all convective boundaries during all evolutionary stages. We demonstrate that overshooting at the bottom of the pulse-driven convective zone, which forms in the intershell during the He-shell flash, leads to more efficient third dredge-up. Some overshoot at the bottom of the convective envelope removes the He-H discontinuity, which would otherwise prohibit the occurrence of the third dredge-up for this stellar mass. However, no correlation between the amount of envelope overshoot and the efficiency of the third dredge-up has been found. Increasingly efficient third dredge-up eventually leads to a carbon star model. Due to the partial mixing efficiency in the overshoot region a C13-pocket can form after the third dredge-up event which may be crucial for n-capture nucleosynthesis., Comment: 6 pages including 3 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/astro_literatur.html and from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html, IAU Symp. 191 "AGB Stars", T. Le Bertre, A. Lebre, C. Waelkens (eds.), ASP Conf. Series

We investigate the validity of the core mass - luminosity relation (CMLR), originally described by Paczynski (1970), for asymptotic giant branch stars under the presence of third dredge-up events. We find, that models with efficient third dredge-up with less massive cores than those associated with hot bottom burning (Bloecker and Schoenberner 1991) do not obey the linear CMLR. Complete evolutionary calculations of thermal pulse stellar models which consider overshoot according to an exponential diffusive algorithm show systematically larger third dredge-up for lower core masses (0.55 Msol < M_H < 0.8 Msol) than any other existing models. We present and discuss the luminosity evolution of these models., Comment: 4 pages including 4 PostScript figures, also available from http://www.astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de/astro_literatur.html and from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Letters)

Based on radiation hydrodynamics modeling of stellar convection zones, a diffusion scheme has been devised describing the downward penetration of convective motions beyond the Schwarzschild boundary (overshoot) into the radiative interior. This scheme of exponential diffusive overshoot has already been successfully applied to AGB stars. Here we present an application to the Sun in order to determine the time scale and depth extent of this additional mixing, i.e. diffusive overshoot at the base of the convective envelope. We calculated the associated destruction of lithium during the evolution towards and on the main-sequence. We found that the slow-mixing processes induced by the diffusive overshoot may lead to a substantial depletion of lithium during the Sun's main-sequence evolution., Comment: 8 pages including 4 PostScript figures, using spackap.sty, Proc. of the workshop "Solar Composition and its Evolution - From Core to Corona, to appear in Space Science Reviews, also available from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html

We present the first K'-band image of the carbon star IRC+10216 with 76 mas resolution. The diffraction-limited image was reconstructed from 6m telescope speckle data using the speckle masking bispectrum method. The image shows that the dust shell of IRC+10216 is extremely clumpy. Five individual clouds within a 210 mas radius of the central star have been resolved for the first time. On the basis of consistent theoretical models we argue that these structures are produced by circumstellar dust formation. The fragmentation of the shell structure gives most likely direct evidence for an inhomogeneous mass-loss process which may be interpreted in terms of large-scale surface convection-cells (Schwarzschild 1975) being a common phenomenon for red giants., Comment: 4 pages including 4 PostScript figures, A&A (Letter), also available from http://www.speckle.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/publications.html

The focus of this study is on the treatment of those stellar regions immediately adjacent to convective zones. The results of hydrodynamical simulations by Freytag et al. (1996, A&A313,497) show that the motion of convective elements extends well beyond the boundary of the convectively unstable region. We have applied their parametrized description of the corresponding velocities to the treatment of overshoot in stellar evolution calculations up to the AGB (Pop.I, M_zams=3M_sun)., Comment: 4 pages, 4 ps-figures, latex and l-aa.sty, Letter to Astronomy & Astrophysics, in press