Search

Aims. Through the ATOMIUM project, based on an ALMA large program, we aim to present a consistent view of a sample of 17 nearby cool evolved stars (Aymptotic Giant Branch and red supergiant stars). Methods. Here we present VLT/SPHERE-ZIMPOL polarimetric maps obtained in the visible of 14 out of the 17 ATOMIUM sources. They were obtained contemporaneously with the ALMA high spatial resolution data. To help interpret the polarized signal, we produced synthetic maps of light scattering by dust, through 3D radiative transfer simulations with the RADMC3D code. Results. The degree of linear polarization (DoLP) observed by ZIMPOL spreads across several optical filters. We infer that it primarily probes dust located just outside of the point spread function, and in or near the plane of the sky, with a total optical depth close to unity in the line of sight, representing only a fraction of the total circumstellar dust. The maximum DoLP ranges from 0.03-0.38 depending on the source, fractions that can be reproduced by our 3D pilot models for grains composed of common dust species. The spatial structure of the DoLP shows a diverse set of shapes. Only for three sources do we note a correlation between the ALMA CO and SiO lines, which trace the gas density, and the DoLP, which traces the dust. Conclusion. The clumpiness of the DoLP and the lack of a consistent correlation between the gas and the dust location show that, in the inner circumstellar environment (CSE), dust formation occurs at very specific sites. This has potential consequences for the derived mass-loss rates and dust-to-gas ratio in the inner region of the CSE. Except for $\pi^1$~Gru and perhaps GY Aql, we do not detect interactions between the circumstellar wind and the hypothesized companions that shape the wind at larger scales. This suggests that the orbits of any other companions are tilted out of the plane of the sky., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 22 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables

We study the spatially resolved stellar populations of 444 galaxies at $0.3, Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Some examples and tutorials of spatially resolved SED analysis will be available at https://github.com/aabdurrouf/JWST-HST_resolvedSEDfits

A renewed interest about the origin of \emph{r}-process elements has been stimulated by the multi-messenger observation of the gravitational event GW170817, with the detection of both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves corresponding to the merger of two neutron stars. Such phenomenon has been proposed as one of the main sources of the \emph{r}-process. However, the origin of the \emph{r}-process elements at different metallicities is still under debate. We aim at investigating the origin of the \emph{r}-process elements in the Galactic thin disc population. From the sixth internal data release of the \emph{Gaia}-ESO we have collected a large sample of Milky Way thin- and thick-disc stars for which abundances of Eu, O, and Mg are available. The sample consists of members of 62 open clusters, located at a Galactocentric radius from $\sim 5$ kpc to $\sim 20$ kpc in the disc, in the metallicity range $[-0.5, 0.4]$ and covering an age interval from 0.1 to 7 Gy, and about 1300 Milky Way disc field stars in the metallicity range $[-1.5, 0.5]$. We compare the observations with the results of a chemical evolution model, in which we varied the nucleosynthesis sources for the three considered elements. Our main result is that Eu in the thin disc is predominantly produced by sources with short lifetimes, such as magneto-rotationally driven SNe. There is no strong evidence for additional sources at delayed times. Our findings do not imply that there cannot be a contribution from mergers of neutron stars in other environments, as in the halo or in dwarf spheroidal galaxies, but such a contribution is not needed to explain Eu abundances at thin disc metallicities., 20 pages, accepted for publication in A&A

The ratio of the mass of interstellar dust to the total mass of metals (the dust-to-metals/DTM ratio) tends to increase with metallicity. This can be explained by the increasing efficiency of grain growth in the interstellar medium (ISM) at higher metallicities, with a corollary being that the low DTM ratios seen at low metallicities are due to inefficient stellar dust production. This interpretation assumes that the efficiency of dust destruction in the ISM is constant, whereas it might be expected to increase at low metallicity; the decreased cooling efficiency of low-metallicity gas should result in more post-shock dust destruction via thermal sputtering. We show that incorporating a sufficiently strong metallicity dependence into models of galaxy evolution removes the need for low stellar dust yields. The contribution of stellar sources to the overall dust budget may be significantly underestimated, and that of grain growth overestimated, by models assuming a constant destruction efficiency., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. MNRAS accepted

The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey (NESS) is a volume-complete sample of $\sim$850 Galactic evolved stars within 3\,kpc at (sub-)mm wavelengths, observed in the CO $J = $ (2$-$1) and (3$-$2) rotational lines, and the sub-mm continuum, using the James Clark Maxwell Telescope and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. NESS consists of five tiers, based on distances and dust-production rate (DPR). We define a new metric for estimating the distances to evolved stars and compare its results to \emph{Gaia} EDR3. Replicating other studies, the most-evolved, highly enshrouded objects in the Galactic Plane dominate the dust returned by our sources, and we initially estimate a total DPR of $4.7\times 10^{-5}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ from our sample. Our sub-mm fluxes are systematically higher and spectral indices are typically shallower than dust models typically predict. The 450/850 $\mu$m spectral indices are consistent with the blackbody Rayleigh--Jeans regime, suggesting a large fraction of evolved stars have unexpectedly large envelopes of cold dust., Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publications in MNRAS

Lead (Pb) is predicted to have large over-abundances with respect to other s-process elements in Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, especially of low metallicities. However, our previous abundance studies of s-process enriched post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (post-AGB) stars in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds show a discrepancy between observed and predicted Pb abundances. For the subset of post-AGB stars with low metallicities the determined upper limits based on detailed chemical abundance studies are much lower than what is predicted. Recent theoretical studies have pointed to the occurrence of the i-process to explain the observed chemical patterns, especially of Pb. A major development, in the observational context, is the release of the GAIA EDR3 parallaxes of the post-AGBs in the Galaxy, which has opened the gateway to systematically studying the sample of stars as a function of current luminosities (which can be linked to their initial masses). In this paper, we succinctly review the Pb discrepancy in post-AGB stars and present the latest observational and theoretical developments in this research landscape.

We present the first comparison of observed stellar continuum spectra of high-redshift galaxies and mock galaxy spectra generated from hydrodynamical simulations. The mock spectra are produced from the IllustrisTNG TNG100 simulation combined with stellar population models and take into account dust attenuation and realistic observational effects (aperture effects and noise). We compare the simulated $D_n4000$ and EW(H$\delta$) of galaxies with $10.5 \leq \log(M_\ast/M_\odot) \leq 11.5$ at $0.6 \leq z \leq 1.0$ to the observed distributions from the LEGA-C survey. TNG100 globally reproduces the observed distributions of spectral indices, implying that the age distribution of galaxies in TNG100 is generally realistic. Yet there are small but significant differences. For old galaxies, TNG100 shows small $D_n4000$ when compared to LEGA-C, while LEGA-C galaxies have larger EW(H$\delta$) at fixed $D_n4000$. There are several possible explanations: 1) LEGA-C galaxies have overall older ages combined with small contributions (a few percent in mass) from younger ($, Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, accepted by AJ

Context. We present a large homogeneous set of stellar parameters and abundances across a broad range of metallicities, involving 13 classical dwarf spheroidal (dSph) and ultra-faint dSph (UFD) galaxies. In total, this study includes 380 stars in Fornax, Sagittarius, Sculptor, Sextans, Carina, Ursa Minor, Draco, Reticulum II, Bootes I, Ursa Major II, Leo I, Segue I, and Triangulum II. This sample represents the largest, homogeneous, high-resolution study of dSph galaxies to date. Aims. With our homogeneously derived catalog, we are able to search for similar and deviating trends across different galaxies. We investigate the mass dependence of the individual systems on the production of α-elements, but also try to shed light on the long-standing puzzle of the dominant production site of r-process elements. Methods. We used data from the Keck observatory archive and the ESO reduced archive to reanalyze stars from these 13 classical dSph and UFD galaxies. We automatized the step of obtaining stellar parameters, but ran a full spectrum synthesis (1D, local thermal equilibrium) to derive all abundances except for iron to which we applied nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium corrections where possible. Results. The homogenized set of abundances yielded the unique possibility of deriving a relation between the onset of type Ia supernovae and the stellar mass of the galaxy. Furthermore, we derived a formula to estimate the evolution of α-elements. This reveals a universal relation of these systems across a large range in mass. Finally, we show that between stellar masses of 2.1 × 107 M⊙ and 2.9 × 105 M⊙, there is no dependence of the production of heavy r-process elements on the stellar mass of the galaxy. Conclusions. Placing all abundances consistently on the same scale is crucial to answering questions about the chemical history of galaxies. By homogeneously analyzing Ba and Eu in the 13 systems, we have traced the onset of the s-process and found it to increase with metallicity as a function of the galaxy’s stellar mass. Moreover, the r-process material correlates with the α-elements indicating some coproduction of these, which in turn would point toward rare core-collapse supernovae rather than binary neutron star mergers as a host for the r-process at low [Fe/H] in the investigated dSph systems.

28 pags., 10 figs., 7 tabs., Context. This is the first publication from the DEATHSTAR project. The overall goal of the project is to reduce the uncertainties of the observational estimates of mass-loss rates from evolved stars on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB). Aim. The aim in this first publication is to constrain the sizes of the 12CO emitting region from the circumstellar envelopes around 42 mostly southern AGB stars, of which 21 are M-Type and 21 are C-Type, using the Atacama Compact Array (ACA) at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. The symmetry of the outflows is also investigated. Methods. Line emission from 12CO J = 2→1 and 3→2 from all of the sources were mapped using the ACA. In this initial analysis, the emission distribution was fit to a Gaussian distribution in the uv-plane. A detailed radiative transfer analysis will be presented in a future publication. The major and minor axis of the best-fit Gaussian at the line center velocity of the 12CO J = 2→1 emission gives a first indication of the size of the emitting region. Furthermore, the fitting results, such as the Gaussian major and minor axis, center position, and the goodness of fit across both lines, constrain the symmetry of the emission distribution. For a subsample of sources, the measured emission distribution is compared to predictions from previous best-fit radiative transfer modeling results. Results. We find that the CO envelope sizes are, in general, larger for C-Type than for M-Type AGB stars, which is as expected if the CO/H2 ratio is larger in C-Type stars. Furthermore, the measurements show a relation between the measured (Gaussian) 12CO J = 2→1 size and circumstellar density that, while in broad agreement with photodissociation calculations, reveals large scatter and some systematic differences between the different stellar types. For lower mass-loss-rate irregular and semi-regular variables of both M-and C-Type AGB stars, the 12CO J = 2→1 size appears to be independent of the ratio of the mass-loss rate to outflow velocity, which is a measure of circumstellar density. For the higher mass-loss-rate Mira stars, the 12CO J = 2→1 size clearly increases with circumstellar density, with larger sizes for the higher CO-Abundance C-Type stars. The M-Type stars appear to be consistently smaller than predicted from photodissociation theory. The majority of the sources have CO envelope sizes that are consistent with a spherically symmetric, smooth outflow, at least on larger scales. For about a third of the sources, indications of strong asymmetries are detected. This is consistent with what was found in previous interferometric investigations of northern sources. Smaller scale asymmetries are found in a larger fraction of sources. Conclusions. These results for CO envelope radii and shapes can be used to constrain detailed radiative transfer modeling of the same stars so as to determine mass-loss rates that are independent of photodissociation models. For a large fraction of the sources, observations at higher spatial resolution will be necessary to deduce the nature and origin of the complex circumstellar dynamics revealed by our ACA observations., This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#2016.2.00025.S and #2017.1.00595.S. ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), MOST and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ. This work has made use of data from the European Space Agency (ESA) mission Gaia (https://www. cosmos.esa.int/gaia), processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dpac/ consortium). Funding for the DPAC has been provided by national institutions, in particular the institutions participating in the Gaia Multilateral Agreement.

As the International Year of the Periodic Table came to an end in 2019, the authors reflect on the chemistry and physics that drive the periodic table of the elements. This includes aspects of periodic trends, relativistic electronic-structure theory, nuclear-structure theory and the astrophysical origin of the elements. Mendeleev's introduction of the periodic table of elements is one of the most important milestones in the history of chemistry, as it brought order into the known chemical and physical behaviour of the elements. The periodic table can be seen as parallel to the Standard Model in particle physics, in which the elementary particles known today can be ordered according to their intrinsic properties. The underlying fundamental theory to describe the interactions between particles comes from quantum theory or, more specifically, from quantum field theory and its inherent symmetries. In the periodic table, the elements are placed into a certain period and group based on electronic configurations that originate from the Pauli and Aufbau principles for the electrons surrounding a positively charged nucleus. This order enables us to approximately predict the chemical and physical properties of elements. Apparent anomalies can arise from relativistic effects, partial-screening phenomena (of type lanthanide contraction) and the compact size of the first shell of everyl-value. Further, ambiguities in electron configurations and the breakdown of assigning a dominant configuration, owing to configuration mixing and dense spectra for the heaviest elements in the periodic table. For the short-lived transactinides, the nuclear stability becomes an important factor in chemical studies. Nuclear stability, decay rates, spectra and reaction cross sections are also important for predicting the astrophysical origin of the elements, including the production of the heavy elements beyond iron in supernova explosions or neutron-star mergers. In this Perspective, we critically analyse the periodic table of elements and the current status of theoretical predictions and origins for the heaviest elements, which combine both quantum chemistry and physics.

We analyze the colors and sizes of 32 quiescent (UVJ-selected) galaxies with strong Balmer absorption ($\mbox{EW}(H\delta) \geq 4$\AA) at $z\sim0.8$ drawn from DR2 of the LEGA-C survey to test the hypothesis that these galaxies experienced compact, central starbursts before quenching. These recently quenched galaxies, usually referred to as post-starburst galaxies, span a wide range of colors and we find a clear correlation between color and half-light radius, such that bluer galaxies are smaller. We build simple toy models to explain this correlation: a normal star-forming disk plus a central, compact starburst component. Bursts with exponential decay timescale of $\sim$~100 Myr that produce $\sim10\%$ to more than 100\% of the pre-existing masses can reproduce the observed correlation. More significant bursts also produce bluer and smaller descendants. Our findings imply that when galaxies shut down star formation rapidly, they generally had experienced compact, starburst events and that the large, observed spread in sizes and colors mostly reflects a variety of burst strengths. Recently quenched galaxies should have younger stellar ages in the centers; multi-wavelength data with high spatial resolution are required to reveal the age gradient. Highly dissipative processes should be responsible for this type of formation history. While determining the mechanisms for individual galaxies is challenging, some recently quenched galaxies show signs of gravitational interactions, suggesting that mergers are likely an important mechanism in triggering the rapid shut-down of star-formation activities at $z\sim0.8$., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted by ApJ

The vast majority (>=90%) of presolar SiC grains identified in primitive meteorites are relics of ancient asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, whose ejecta were incorporated into the Solar System during its formation. Detailed characterization of these ancient stardust grains has revealed precious information on mixing processes in AGB interiors in great detail. However, the mass and metallicity distribution of their parent stars still remains ambiguous, although such information is crucial to investigating the slow neutron capture process, whose efficiency is mass- and metallicity-dependent. Using a well-known Milky Way chemo-dynamical model, we follow the evolution of the AGB stars that polluted the Solar System at 4.57 Gyr ago and weighted the stars based on their SiC dust productions. We find that presolar SiC in the Solar System predominantly originated from AGB stars with M~2 Msun and Z~Zsun. Our finding well explains the grain-size distribution of presolar SiC identified in situ in primitive meteorites. Moreover, it provides complementary results to very recent papers dealing with the characterization of parent stars of presolar SiC., Accepted for publication on Astronomy & Astrophjysics

arXiv:1706.10279v2, Galaxy-cluster gravitational lenses can magnify background galaxies by a total factor of up to ~50. Here we report an image of an individual star at redshift z = 1.49 (dubbed MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1) magnified by more than ×2,000. A separate image, detected briefly 0.26″ from Lensed Star 1, is probably a counterimage of the first star demagnified for multiple years by an object of ≳3 solar masses in the cluster. For reasonable assumptions about the lensing system, microlensing fluctuations in the stars' light curves can yield evidence about the mass function of intracluster stars and compact objects, including binary fractions and specific stellar evolution and supernova models. Dark-matter subhaloes or massive compact objects may help to account for the two images' long-term brightness ratio., The Keck Observatory was made possible with the support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. NASA/STScI grants 14041, 14199, 14208, 14528, 14872 and 14922 provided financial support. P.L.K., A.V.F. and W.Z. are grateful for assistance from the Christopher R. Redlich Fund, the TABASGO Foundation and the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science (U. C. Berkeley). The work of A.V.F. was completed in part at the Aspen Center for Physics, which is supported by NSF grant PHY-1607611. J.M.D. acknowledges support of projects AYA2015-64508-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE) and AYA2012-39475-C02-01 and the consolider project CSD2010-00064 funded by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad. P.G.P.-G. acknowledges support from Spanish government MINECO grants AYA2015-70815- ERC and AYA2015-63650-P. M.O. is supported by JSPS KAKENHI grants 26800093 and 15H05892. M.J. acknowledges support by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (grant ST/L00075X/1). R.J.F. is supported by NSF grant AST-1518052 and Sloan and Packard Foundation fellowships. M.N. acknowledges support from PRININAF-2014 1.05.01.94.02. O.G. was supported by NSF Fellowship under award AST1602595. J.H. acknowledges support from a VILLUM FONDEN Investigator Grant (16599).

Transition type dwarf galaxies are thought to be systems undergoing the process of transformation from a star-forming into a passively evolving dwarf, which makes them particularly suitable to study evolutionary processes driving the existence of different dwarf morphological types. Here we present results from a spectroscopic survey of ~200 individual red giant branch stars in the Phoenix dwarf, the closest transition type with a comparable luminosity to "classical" dwarf galaxies. We measure a systemic heliocentric velocity V = -21.2 km/s. Our survey reveals the clear presence of prolate rotation, which is aligned with the peculiar spatial distribution of the youngest stars in Phoenix. We speculate that both features might have arisen from the same event, possibly an accretion of a smaller system. The evolved stellar population of Phoenix is relatively metal-poor ( = -1.49+/-0.04 dex) and shows a large metallicity spread ($\sigma_{\rm [Fe/H]} = 0.51\pm0.04$\,dex), with a pronounced metallicity gradient of -0.13+/-0.01 dex per arcmin similar to luminous, passive dwarf galaxies. We also report a discovery of an extremely metal-poor star candidate in Phoenix and discuss the importance of correcting for spatial sampling when interpreting the chemical properties of galaxies with metallicity gradients. This study presents a major leap forward in our knowledge of the internal kinematics of the Phoenix transition type dwarf galaxy, and the first wide area spectroscopic survey of its metallicity properties., Comment: 20 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present detailed chemical abundances for 99 red-giant branch stars in the centre of the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy, obtained from high-resolution VLT/FLAMES spectroscopy. This includes abundances of Li (detected in 1 out of 99 stars), Na, $\alpha$-elements (O, Mg, Si, Ca Ti), iron-peak elements (Sc, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn), r- and s-process elements (Ba, La, Nd, Eu). The sample, covering -2.3< [Fe/H], Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 21 pages, 16 figures, +Appendix (in total 34 pages)

Context. Dwarf galaxies found in isolation in the Local Group (LG) are unlikely to have interacted with the large LG spirals, and therefore environmental effects such as tidal and ram-pressure stripping should not be the main drivers of their evolution. Aims. We provide insight into the internal mechanisms shaping LG dwarf galaxies by increasing our knowledge of the internal properties of isolated systems. Here we focus on the evolved stellar component of the Aquarius dwarf galaxy, whose kinematic and metallicity properties have only recently started to be explored. Methods. Spectroscopic data in the region of the near-infrared Ca II triplet lines has been obtained with FORS2 at the Very Large Telescope for 53 red giant branch (RGB) stars. These data are used to derive line-of-sight (l.o.s.) velocities and [Fe/H] of the individual RGB stars. Results. We derive a systemic velocity of 142.2(-1.8)(+1.8) kms(-1) in agreement with previous determinations from both the HI gas and stars. The internal kinematics of Aquarius appears to be best modelled by a combination of random motions (l.o.s. velocity dispersion of 10.3(-1.3)(+1.6)kms(-1)) and linear rotation (with a gradient -5.0(-1.9)(+1.6) km s(-1) arcmin(-1)) along a PA = 139(-27)(+17) deg, broadly consistent with the optical projected major axis. This rotation signal is significantly misaligned or even counter-rotating to that derived from the HI gas. We also find the tentative presence of a mild negative metallicity gradient and indications that the metal-rich stars have a colder velocity dispersion than the metal-poor ones. Conclusions. This work represents a significant improvement with respect to previous measurements of the RGB stars of Aquarius as it doubles the number of member stars already studied in the literature. We speculate that the misaligned rotation between the HI gas and evolved stellar component might have been the result of recent accretion of HI gas, or re-accretion after gas-loss due to internal stellar feedback.© ESO 2020, The authors thank the referee for a thorough report that has helped improving the manuscript. L.H.M. acknowledges financial support from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (SEV-2017-0709) and through the grants AYA2016-76682-C3 and BES-2017-082471. G.B. and S.T. acknowledge financial support through the grants (AEI/FEDER, UE) AYA2017-89076-P, AYA2014-56795-P, as well as by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MCIU), through the State Budget and by the Consejeria de Economia, Industria, Comercio y Conocimiento of the Canary Islands Autonomous Community, through the Regional Budget. G.B. acknowledges financial support through the grant RYC-2012-11537. E.S. gratefully acknowledges funding by the Emmy Noether program from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). This research has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System, IRAF and Python, specifically with Astropy, (http://www.astropy.org), a community-developed core Python package for Astronomy (Astropy Collaboration 2013; Price-Whelan et al. 2018), Scipy, Matplotlib (Hunter 2007), Scikit-learn (Pedregosa et al. 2011) and PyMultinest (Buchner et al. 2014).

We report the results of our spectrophotometric monitoring campaign for AT 2017be in NGC 2537. Its light curve reveals a fast rise to an optical maximum, followed by a plateau lasting about 30 d, and finally a fast decline. Its absolute peak magnitude (M-r similar or equal to -12 mag) is fainter than that of core-collapse supernovae, and is consistent with those of supernova impostors and other intermediate-luminosity optical transients. The quasi-bolometric light-curve peaks at similar to 2 x 10(40) erg s(-1), and the late-time photometry allows us to constrain an ejected Ni-56 mass of similar to 8 x 10(-4)M(circle dot). The spectra of AT 2017 be show minor evolution over the observational period, a relatively blue continuum showing at early phases, which becomes redder with time. A prominent H alpha emission line always dominates over other Balmer lines. Weak Fe II features, Can H&K, and the Ca II NIR triplet are also visible, while P-Cygni absorption troughs are found in a high-resolution spectrum. In addition, the [Ca II] lambda lambda 7291, 7324 doublet is visible in all spectra. This feature is typical of intermediate-luminosity red transients (ILRTs), similar to SN 2008S. The relatively shallow archival Spitzer data are not particularly constraining. On the other hand, a non-detection in deeper near-infrared HST images disfavours a massive Luminous Blue Variable eruption as the origin for AT 2017be. As has been suggested for other ILRTs, we propose that AT 2017be is a candidate for a weak electron-capture supernova explosion of a superasymptotic giant branch star, still embedded in a thick dusty envelope.

The SPICA mid- and far-infrared telescope will address fundamental issues in our understanding of star formation and ISM physics in galaxies. A particular hallmark of SPICA is the outstanding sensitivity enabled by the cold telescope, optimised detectors, and wide instantaneous bandwidth throughout the mid- and far-infrared. The spectroscopic, imaging, and polarimetric observations that SPICA will be able to collect will help in clarifying the complex physical mechanisms which underlie the baryon cycle of galaxies. In particular, (i) the access to a large suite of atomic and ionic fine-structure lines for large samples of galaxies will shed light on the origin of the observed spread in star-formation rates within and between galaxies, (ii) observations of HD rotational lines (out to similar to 10 Mpc) and fine structure lines such as [C II] 158 mu m (out to similar to 100 Mpc) will clarify the main reservoirs of interstellar matter in galaxies, including phases where CO does not emit, (iii) far-infrared spectroscopy of dust and ice features will address uncertainties in the mass and composition of dust in galaxies, and the contributions of supernovae to the interstellar dust budget will be quantified by photometry and monitoring of supernova remnants in nearby galaxies, (iv) observations of far-infrared cooling lines such as [O I] 63 mu m from star-forming molecular clouds in our Galaxy will evaluate the importance of shocks to dissipate turbulent energy. The paper concludes with requirements for the telescope and instruments, and recommendations for the observing strategy.

Context. The great majority of early-type dwarf galaxies, in the Local Group as well as in other galaxy groups, are found in the vicinity of much larger galaxies, making it hard to disentangle the role of internal versus external effects in driving their evolution., Aims. In order to minimize environmental effects and gain an insight into the internal mechanisms that shape the properties of these systems, we study one of the few dwarf spheroidal galaxies of the Local Group found in isolation: Cetus. This system is of particular interest since it does not follow the Local Group morphology-density relation., Methods. We obtained Very Large Telescope (VLT) FORS2 spectra (R similar to 2600) in the region of the nIR CaII triplet lines for 80 candidate red giant branch (RGB) stars. The analysis yielded line-of-sight velocities and metallicities ([Fe/H]) for 54 bona fide member stars. Results. The kinematic analysis shows that Cetus is a mainly pressure-supported (sigma(v) = 11.0(-1.3)(+1.6) km s(-1)), dark-matter-dominated system (M-1/2/L-V = 23.9(-8.9)(+9.)7 M-circle dot/L-circle dot) with no significant signs of internal rotation. We find Cetus to be a metal-poor system with a significant metallicity spread (median [Fe/H] = -1.71 dex, median-absolute-deviation = 0.49 dex), as expected for its stellar mass. We report the presence of a mild metallicity gradient compatible with those found in other dwarf spheroidals of the same luminosity; we trace the presence of a stellar population gradient also in the spatial distribution of stars in different evolutionary phases in ancillary SuprimeCam photometric data. There are tentative indications of two chemo-kinematically distinct sub-populations, with the more metal-poor stars showing a hotter kinematics than the metal-richer ones. Furthermore, the photometric dataset reveals the presence of a foreground population that most likely belongs to the Sagittarius stream., Conclusions. This study represents an important step forward in assessing the internal kinematics of the Cetus dwarf spheroidal galaxy as well as the first wide-area spectroscopic determination of its metallicity properties. With our analysis, Cetus adds to the growing scatter in stellar-dark matter halo properties in low-mass galactic systems. The presence of a metallicity gradient akin to those found in similarly luminous and pressure-supported systems inhabiting very different environments may hint at metallicity gradients in Local Group early-type dwarfs being driven by internal mechanisms.

Using high-resolution spectra from the VLT Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics Census (LEGA-C) program, we reconstruct the star formation histories (SFHs) of 607 galaxies at redshifts z - 0.6-1.0 and stellar masses. greater than or similar to 10(10) M circle dot using a custom full spectrum fitting algorithm that incorporates the emcee and FSPS packages. We show that the mass-weighted age of a galaxy correlates strongly with stellar velocity dispersion (sigma(*)) and ongoing star formation (SF) activity, with the stellar content in higher-sigma(*) galaxies having formed earlier and faster. The SFHs of quiescent galaxies are generally consistent with passive evolution since their main SF epoch, but a minority show clear evidence of a rejuvenation event in their recent past. The mean age of stars in galaxies that are star-forming is generally significantly younger, with SF peaking after z < 1.5 for almost all star-forming galaxies in the sample: many of these still have either constant or rising SFRs on timescales > 100 Myr. This indicates that z > 2 progenitors of z similar to 1 star-forming galaxies are generally far less massive. Finally, despite considerable variance in the individual SFHs, we show that the current SF activity of massive galaxies (>L-*) at z similar to 1 correlates with SF levels at least 3 Gyr prior: SFHs retain "memory" on a large fraction of the Hubble time. Our results illustrate a novel approach to resolve the formation phase of galaxies, and, by identifying their individual evolutionary paths, one can connect progenitors and descendants across cosmic time. This is uniquely enabled by the high-quality continuum spectroscopy provided by the LEGA-C survey.

Context.Sulphur has long been known to form different molecules depending on the chemical composition of its environment. More recently, the sulphur-bearing molecules SO and H2S have been shown to behave differently in oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) circumstellar envelopes of different densities.Aims.By surveying a diverse sample of AGB stars for CS and SiS emission, we aim to determine in which environments these sulphur-bearing molecules most readily occur. We include sources with a range of mass-loss rates and carbon-rich, oxygen-rich, and mixed S-type chemistries. Where these molecules are detected, we aim to determine their CS and SiS abundances.Methods.We surveyed 20 AGB stars of different chemical types using the APEX telescope, and combined this with an IRAM 30 m and APEX survey of CS and SiS emission towards over 30 S-type stars. For those stars with detections, we performed radiative transfer modelling to determine abundances and abundance distributions.Results.We detect CS towards all the surveyed carbon stars, some S-type stars, and the highest mass-loss rate oxygen-rich stars, (Ṁ≥ 5 × 10−6M⊙ yr−1). SiS is detected towards the highest mass-loss rate sources of all chemical types (Ṁ≥ 8 × 10−7M⊙ yr−1). We find CS peak fractional abundances ranging from ~4 × 10−7to ~2 × 10−5for the carbon stars, from ~3 × 10−8to ~1 × 10−7for the oxygen-rich stars, and from ~1 × 10−7to ~8 × 10−6for the S-type stars. We find SiS peak fractional abundances ranging from ~9 × 10−6to ~2 × 10−5for the carbon stars, from ~5 × 10−7to ~2 × 10−6for the oxygen-rich stars, and from ~2 × 10−7to ~2 × 10−6for the S-type stars.Conclusions.Overall, we find that wind density plays an important role in determining the chemical composition of AGB circumstellar envelopes. It is seen that for oxygen-rich AGB stars both CS and SiS are detected only in the highest density circumstellar envelopes and their abundances are generally lower than for carbon-rich AGB stars by around an order of magnitude. For carbon-rich and S-type stars SiS was also only detected in the highest density circumstellar envelopes, while CS was detected consistently in all surveyed carbon stars and sporadically among the S-type stars.

The SPICA mid and far-infrared telescope will address fundamental issues in our understanding of star formation and ISM physics in galaxies. A particular hallmark of SPICA is the outstanding sensitivity enabled by the cold telescope, optimized detectors, and wide instantaneous bandwidth throughout the mid- and far-infrared. The spectroscopic, imaging and polarimetric observations that SPICA will be able to collect will help in clarifying the complex physical mechanisms which underlie the baryon cycle of galaxies. In particular: (i) The access to a large suite of atomic and ionic fine-structure lines for large samples of galaxies will shed light on the origin of the observed spread in star formation rates within and between galaxies. (ii) Observations of HD rotational lines (out to $\sim$10 Mpc) and fine structure lines such as [CII] 158 $\mu$m (out to $\sim$100 Mpc) will clarify the main reservoirs of interstellar matter in galaxies, including phases where CO does not emit. (iii) Far-infrared spectroscopy of dust and ice features will address uncertainties in the mass and composition of dust in galaxies, and the contributions of supernovae to the interstellar dust budget will be quantified by photometry and monitoring of supernova remnants in nearby galaxies. (iv) Observations of far-infrared cooling lines such as [OI] 63 $\mu$m from star-forming molecular clouds in our Galaxy will evaluate the importance of shocks to dissipate turbulent energy. The paper concludes with requirements for the telescope and instruments, and recommendations for the observing strategy., Comment: Accepted for publication in PASA; 19 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

The existence of blue straggler stars (BSSs) in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) is still an open question. In fact, many BSS candidates have been observed in the Local Group dSphs, but it is unclear whether they are real BSSs or young stars. Shedding light on the nature of these BSS candidates is crucial, in order to understand the star formation history of dSphs. In this paper, we consider BSS candidates in Sculptor and Fornax. In Fornax there are strong hints that the BSS population is contaminated by young stars, whereas in Sculptor there is no clear evidence of recent star formation. We derive the radial and luminosity distribution of BSS candidates from wide field imaging data extending beyond the nominal tidal radius of these galaxies. The observations are compared with the radial distribution of BSSs expected from dynamical simulations. In Sculptor the radial distribution of BSS candidates is consistent with that of red horizontal branch (RHB) stars and is in agreement with theoretical expectations for BSSs generated via mass transfer in binaries. On the contrary, in Fornax the radial distribution of BSS candidates is more concentrated than that of all the considered stellar populations. This result supports the hypothesis that most of BSS candidates in Fornax are young stars and is consistent with previous studies., 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present chemical abundances for 17 elements in a sample of 11 red giant branch stars in NGC 6362 from UVES spectra. NGC 6362 is one of the least massive globulars where multiple populations have been detected, yet its detailed chemical composition has not been investigated so far. NGC 6362 turns out to be a metal-intermediate ([Fe/H]=-1.07\pm0.01 dex) cluster, with its \alpha- and Fe-peak elements content compatible with that observed in clusters with similar metallicity. It also displays an enhancement in its s-process element abundances. Among the light elements involved in the multiple populations phenomenon, only [Na/Fe] shows star-to-star variations, while [Al/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] do not show any evidence for abundance spreads. A differential comparison with M4, a globular cluster with similar mass and metallicity, reveals that the two clusters share the same chemical composition. This finding suggests that NGC 6362 is indeed a regular cluster, formed from gas that has experienced the same chemical enrichment of other clusters with similar metallicity., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication by MNRAS

The technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), offering a complementary tool for sensitive studies of key reactions in nuclear astrophysics, was applied for measurements of the C-13(n,gamma)C-14 and the N-14(n,p)C-14 cross sections, which act as a neutron poison in s-process nucleosynthesis. Solid samples were irradiated at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with neutrons closely resembling a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution for kT = 25 keV, and also at higher energies between En = 123 and 182 keV. After neutron irradiation the produced amount of C-14 in the samples was measured by AMS at the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) facility. For both reactions the present results provide important improvements compared to previous experimental data, which were strongly discordant in the astrophysically relevant energy range and missing for the comparably strong resonances above 100 keV. For C-13(n,gamma) we find a four times smaller cross section around kT = 25 keV than a previous measurement. For N-14(n,p), the present data suggest two times lower cross sections between 100 and 200 keV than had been obtained in previous experiments and data evaluations. The effect of the new stellar cross sections on the s process in low-mass asymptotic giant branch stars was studied for stellar models of 2 M-circle dot initial mass, and solar and 1/10th solar metallicity.

In this review, we discuss the new recent results of the Trojan Horse Method that is used to determine reaction rates for nuclear processes in several astrophysical scenarios. The theory behind this technique is shortly presented. This is followed by an overview of some new experiments that have been carried out using this indirect approach.

The transitional phase between the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and post-AGB phases holds the key to our understanding of the late-stage metamorphosis of intermediate-mass stars. In particular, high velocity jets forming during this phase are suggested to contribute significantly to the shaping of planetary nebulae. For oxygen-rich stars, the rare "water fountains (WFs)" have been regarded as representative objects in this phase, and it is important to identify more of them for further studies. Here we briefly report the results of our latest OH and H2O maser surveys in which a new WF candidate (IRAS 19356+0754) was found. We also performed radiative transfer modelling on the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of all known WFs. It is concluded that WFs might in fact not be the transitional objects, as opposed to previous belief. WFs could be AGB or post-AGB stars with no obvious similarities amongst their SEDs. Further efforts are still needed to improve the identification criteria. This work is supported by a grant awarded to JN from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (project code: HKU 703308P; HKU 704209P; HKU 704710P).

The s-process is responsible of the synthesis of most of the nuclei in the mass range 90 ≤ A ≤ 208. It consists in a series of neutron capture reactions on seed nuclei followed by β-decays, since the neutron accretion rate is slower than the β-decay rate. Such small neutron flux is supplied by the 13C(α,n)16O reaction. It is active inside the helium-burning shell of asymptotic giant branch stars, at temperatures < 108 K, corresponding to an energy interval of 140–230 keV. In this region, the astrophysical S (E)-factor is dominated by the −3 keV sub-threshold resonance due to the 6.356 MeV level in 17O. In this work, we have applied the Trojan Horse Method (THM) to the 13C(6Li,n16O)d quasi-free reaction to extract the 6.356 MeV level resonance parameters, in particular the asymptotic normalization coefficient . A preliminary analysis of a partial data set has lead to , slightly larger than the values in the literature. However, the deduced 13C(α, n)16O reaction rate is in agreement with most results in the literature at ~ 108 K, with enhanced accuracy thanks to our innovative approach merging together ANC and THM.

We present the first single-burst stellar population models which covers the optical and the infrared wavelength range between 3500 and 50000 Angstrom and which are exclusively based on empirical stellar spectra. To obtain these joint models, we combined the extended MILES models in the optical with our new infrared models that are based on the IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility) library. The latter are available only for a limited range in terms of both age and metallicity. Our combined single-burst stellar population models were calculated for ages larger than 1 Gyr, for metallicities between [Fe/H] = -0.40 and 0.26, for initial mass functions of various types and slopes, and on the basis of two different sets of isochrones. They are available to the scientific community on the MILES web page. We checked the internal consistency of our models and compared their colour predictions to those of other models that are available in the literature. Optical and near infrared colours that are measured from our models are found to reproduce the colours well that were observed for various samples of early-type galaxies. Our models will enable a detailed analysis of the stellar populations of observed galaxies., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, published in A&A

Recent studies show that more than 70% of massive stars do not evolve as effectively single stars, but as members of interacting binary systems. The evolution of these stars is thus strongly altered compared to similar but isolated objects. We investigate the occurrence of parsec-scale mid-infrared nebulae around early-type stars. If they exist over a wide range of stellar properties, one possible overarching explanation is non-conservative mass transfer in binary interactions, or stellar mergers. For ~3850 stars (all OBA stars in the Bright Star Catalogue [BSC], Be stars, BeXRBs, and Be+sdO systems), we visually inspect WISE 22 $\mu$m images. Based on nebular shape and relative position, we distinguish five categories: offset bow shocks structurally aligned with the stellar space velocity, unaligned offset bow shocks, and centered, unresolved, and not classified nebulae. In the BSC, we find that 28%, 13%, and 0.4% of all O, B, and A stars, respectively, possess associated infrared (IR) nebulae. Additionally, 34/234 Be stars, 4/72 BeXRBs, and 3/17 Be+sdO systems are associated with IR nebulae. Aligned or unaligned bow shocks result from high relative velocities between star and interstellar medium (ISM) that are dominated by the star or the ISM, respectively. About 13% of the centered nebulae could be bow shocks seen head- or tail-on. For the rest, the data disfavor explanations as remains of parental disks, supernova remnants of a previous companion, and dust production in stellar winds. The existence of centered nebulae also at high Galactic latitudes strongly limits the global risk of coincidental alignments with condensations in the ISM. Mass loss during binary evolution seems a viable mechanism for the formation of at least some of these nebulae. In total, about 29% of the IR nebulae (2% of all OBA stars in the BSC) may find their explanation in the context of binary evolution., Comment: 21 pages, 5 tables, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

To study the possible origin of the huge helium enrichment attributed to the stars on the blue main sequence of Omega Centauri, we make use of a chemical evolution model that has proven able to reproduce other major observed properties of the cluster, namely, its stellar metallicity distribution function, age-metallicity relation and trends of several abundance ratios with metallicity. In this framework, the key condition to satisfy all the available observational constraints is that a galactic-scale outflow develops in a much more massive parent system, as a consequence of multiple supernova explosions in a shallow potential well. This galactic wind must carry out preferentially the metals produced by explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae, whereas elements restored to the interstellar medium through low-energy stellar winds by both asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and massive stars must be mostly retained. Assuming that helium is ejected through slow winds by both AGB stars and fast rotating massive stars (FRMSs), the interstellar medium of Omega Centauri's parent galaxy gets naturally enriched in helium in the course of its evolution., 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The spectra of the planetary nebula NGC 6210 is reanalysed using spectral measurements made in the mid-infrared with the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Infrared Space Observatory. The aim is to determine the chemical composition of this object. We also make use of IUE and ground based spectra. Abundances determined from the mid-infrared lines, which are insensitive to electron temperature, are used as the basis for the determination of the composition, which is found to differ somewhat from earlier results. The abundances found, especially the low value of helium and oxygen, indicate that the central star was originally of rather low mass, probably ≤1 M� . Abundances of phosphorus, iron, silicon, sodium, potassium and chlorine have been determined, some for the first time in this nebula. The electron temperature in this nebula is constant. The temperature, radius and luminosity of the central star is also discussed. It is shown that the luminosity is consistent with that predicted for a star of 0.9 M� . But the predicted nebular age is inconsistent with the observed kinetic age. NGC 6210 (PN G043.1+37.7) is a rather bright planetary nebula located at an unusually high galactic latitude and has only a small extinction. The nebula has an unusual morphology. It is usually classified as ellipsoidal, although Hajian et al. (1995) refer to it as “very amorphous and irregular”. An HST photograph of the nebula is shown in Fig. 1. This is the brightest part of the nebula. The central star is clearly seen in the photograph; while the brightest part of the nebula lies to the north of the central star. Various small scale structures are also present. Most of the emission is present within a region of about 12 �� × 8 �� . This region is surrounded by a halo-like structure with a diameter about twice as large and of much lower surface brightness, less than 1% of the brighter parts of the nebula. A long exposure photograph of the nebula is shown in Fig. 2 where it can be seen that there are four arm-like extensions in the halo. Phillips & Cuesta (1996) have shown that these features have a somewhat different spectrum than that of the main nebula. The integrated spectrum which is studied in this paper is essentially from the main part of the nebula, both because the halo emission is relatively small and because the size of the diaphragm limits the measurement to the central region. Because the nebula is found 38 degrees above the galactic plane it has only a small extinction. It is probably a nearby nebula since most PNe are located close to the galactic plane. An expansion distance has been measured by Hajian et al. (1995 )t o be 1.57 kpc. Although this is an uncertain distance it is not an unreasonable one since it agrees with the distance found from

We present the first single-burst stellar population models in the infrared wavelength range between 2.5 and 5 {\mu}m which are exclusively based on empirical stellar spectra. Our models take as input 180 spectra from the stellar IRTF (Infrared Telescope Facility) library. Our final single-burst stellar population models are calculated based on two different sets of isochrones and various types of initial mass functions of different slopes, ages larger than 1 Gyr and metallicities between [Fe/H] = -0.70 and 0.26. They are made available online to the scientific community on the MILES web page. We analyse the behaviour of the Spitzer [3.6]-[4.5] colour calculated from our single stellar population models and find only slight dependences on both metallicity and age. When comparing to the colours of observed early-type galaxies, we find a good agreement for older, more massive galaxies that resemble a single-burst population. Younger, less massive and more metal-poor galaxies show redder colours with respect to our models. This mismatch can be explained by a more extended star formation history of these galaxies which includes a metal-poor or/and young population. Moreover, the colours derived from our models agree very well with most other models available in this wavelength range. We confirm that the mass-to-light ratio determined in the Spitzer [3.6] {\mu}m band changes much less as a function of both age and metallicity than in the optical bands., Comment: 25 pages, 19 figures, published in MNRAS, models can be downloaded from http://miles.iac.es

To compare the chemistries of stars in the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellite galaxies with stars in the Galaxy, we have compiled a large sample of Galactic stellar abundances from the literature. When kinematic information is available, we have assigned the stars to standard Galactic components through Bayesian classification based on Gaussian velocity ellipsoids. As found in previous studies, the [alpha/Fe] ratios of most stars in the dSph galaxies are generally lower than similar metallicity Galactic stars in this extended sample. Our kinematically selected stars confirm this for the Galactic halo, thin-disk, and thick-disk components. There is marginal overlap in the low [alpha/Fe] ratios between dSph stars and Galactic halo stars on extreme retrograde orbits ( V The new and independent environments offered by the dSph galaxies also allow us to examine fundamental assumptions related to the nucleosynthesis of the elements. The metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] &LE; - 1.8) in the dSph galaxies appear to have lower [Ca/Fe] and [Ti/Fe] than [Mg/Fe] ratios, unlike similar metallicity stars in the Galaxy. Predictions from the α-process (α-rich freeze-out) would be consistent with this result if there have been a lack of hypernovae in dSph galaxies. The α-process could also be responsible for the very low Y abundances in the metal-poor stars in dSph's; since [La/Eu] ( and possibly [Ba/Eu]) are consistent with pure r- process results, the low [Y/Eu] suggests a separate r- process site for this light (first-peak) r- process element. We also discuss SNe II rates and yields as other alternatives, however. In stars with higher metallicities ([Fe/H] &GE; -1.8), contributions from the s-process are expected; [( Y, La, and Ba)/Eu] all rise as expected, and yet [Ba/Y] is still much higher in the dSph stars than similar metallicity Galactic stars. This result is consistent with s-process contributions from lower metallicity AGB stars in dSph galaxies, and is in good agreement with the slower chemical evolution expected in the low-mass dSph galaxies relative to the Galaxy, such that the build-up of metals occurs over much longer timescales. Future investigations of nucleosynthetic constraints ( as well as galaxy formation and evolution) will require an examination of many stars within individual dwarf galaxies. Finally, the Na-Ni trend reported in 1997 by Nissen & Schuster is confirmed in Galactic halo stars, but we discuss this in terms of the general nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements. We do not confirm that the Na-Ni trend is related to the accretion of dSph galaxies in the Galactic halo.

Infrared spectroscopy provides a direct handle on the composition and structure of interstellar dust. We have studied the dust along the line of sight toward the Galactic center using Short Wavelength Spectrometer data obtained with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We focused on the wavelength region from 8 to 13 mum, which is dominated by the strong silicate absorption feature. Using the absorption profiles observed toward Galactic center sources 3 and 4, which are C-rich Wolf-Rayet Stars, as reference objects, we are able to disentangle the interstellar silicate absorption and the silicate emission intrinsic to the source, toward Sgr A* and derive a very accurate profile for the intrinsic 9.7 mum band. The interstellar absorption band is smooth and featureless and is well reproduced using a mixture of 15.1% amorphous pyroxene and 84.9% of amorphous olivine by mass, all in spherical submicron-sized grains. There is no direct evidence for substructure due to interstellar crystalline silicates. By minimizing chi(2) of spectral fits to the absorption feature, we are able to determine an upper limit to the degree of crystallinity of silicates in the diffuse interstellar medium ( ISM) and conclude that the crystalline fraction of the interstellar silicates is 0.2% +/- 0.2% by mass. This is much lower than the degree of crystallinity observed in silicates in the circumstellar environment of evolved stars, the main contributors of dust to the ISM. There are two possible explanations for this discrepancy. First, an amorphization process occurs in the ISM on a timescale significantly shorter than the destruction timescale, possibly caused by particle bombardment by heavyweight ions. Second, we consider the possibility that the crystalline silicates in stellar ejecta are diluted by an additional source of amorphous silicates, in particular supernovae. We also compare our results with a study on silicate presolar grains found in interplanetary dust particles.

We present a detailed study of the circumstellar envelope of the post-asymptotic giant branch ``21 micron object'' HD 56126. We build a detailed dust radiative transfer model of the circumstellar envelope in order to derive the dust composition and mass, and the mass-loss history of the star. To model the emission of the dust we use amorphous carbon, hydrogenated amorphous carbon, magnesium sulfide and titanium carbide. We present a detailed parametrisation of the optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon as a function of H/C content. The mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy is best reproduced by a single dust shell from 1.2 to 2.6 arcsec radius around the central star. This shell originates from a short period during which the mass-loss rate exceeded 10^(-4) M_sun/yr. We find that the strength of the ``21'' micron feature poses a problem for the TiC identification. The low abundance of Ti requires very high absorption cross-sections in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength range to explain the strength of the feature. Other nano-crystalline metal carbides should be considered as well. We find that hydrogenated amorphous carbon in radiative equilibrium with the local radiation field does not reach a high enough temperature to explain the strength of the 3.3-3.4 and 6-9 micron hydrocarbon features relative to the 11-17 micron hydrocarbon features. We propose that the carriers of these hydrocarbon features are not in radiative equilibrium but are transiently heated to high temperature. We find that 2 per cent of the dust mass is required to explain the strength of the ``30'' micron feature, which fits well within the measured atmospheric abundance of Mg and S. This further strengthens the MgS identification of the ``30'' micron feature., Comment: 20 Pages, 10 Figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

We have used the Ultraviolet Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) on Kueyen (UT2) of the Very Large Telescope to take spectra of 15 individual red giants in the Sculptor, Fornax, Carina, and Leo I dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph's). We measure the abundances of alpha-, iron peak, first s-process, second s-process, and r-process elements. No dSph giants in our sample show the deep mixing abundance pattern (O and sometimes Mg depleted, while Na and Al are enhanced) seen in nearly all globular clusters. At a given metallicity the dSph giants exhibit lower [el/Fe] abundance ratios for the alpha-elements than stars in the Galactic halo. The low abundances at low metallicities can be caused by a slow star formation rate and contribution from Type Ia SNe, and/or a small star formation event ( low total mass) and mass-dependent Type II SN yields. In addition, Leo I and Sculptor exhibit a declining even-Z [el/Fe] pattern with increasing metallicity, while Fornax exhibits no significant slope. In contrast, Carina shows a large spread in the even-Z abundance pattern, even over small metallicity ranges, as might be expected from a bursting star formation history. The metal-poor stars in these dSph galaxies ([Fe/H]

Dust- and gas mass loss rates and distances are determined for a sample of about 330 infra-red carbon stars that probe a distance up to about 5.5 kpc. The dependence of the dust- and gas mass loss rates, and the expansion velocity upon galactic longitude (l) are studied. It is found that the expansion velocity significantly depends on l, but that the absolute bolometric magnitude, the dust mass loss rate and the gas-to-dust ratio depend on l marginally, if at all, and the gas mass loss rate does not depend on l. Beyond the solar circle, the expansion velocity (as well as the luminosity, dust-to-gas ratio, dust mass loss rate) is lower than inside the solar circle, as expected from the overall gradient in metallicity content of the Galaxy. Combining the average expansion velocity inside and beyond the solar circle with the theoretically predicted relation between expansion velocity and gas-to-dust ratio, we find that the metallicity gradient in the solar neighbourhood is about 0:034 dex/kpc, well within the quoted range of values in the literature.