DUST-FORMING MOLECULES IN VY CANIS MAJORIS (AND BETELGEUSE).

The formation of inorganic dust in circumstellar environments of evolved stars is poorly understood. Spectra of molecules thought to be most important for the nucleation, i.e. A10, TiO, and TiO₂, have been recently detected in the red supergiant VYCMa. These molecules are effectively formed in VY CMa and the observations suggest that non-equilibrium chemistry must be involved in their formation and nucleation into dust. In addition to exploring the recent observations of VY CMa, we briefly discuss the possibility of detecting these molecules in the "dust-poor" circumstellar environment of Betelgeuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]