We study the population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) by means of full evolutionary models of stars of mass 1 M⊙ ≤ M ≤ 8 M⊙, evolved through the thermally pulsing phase. The models also account for dust production in the circumstellar envelope. We compare Spitzer infrared colours with results from theoretical modelling. We show that ∼75 per cent of the AGB population of the SMC is composed by scarcely obscured objects, mainly stars of mass M ≤ 2 M⊙ at various metallicity, formed between 700 Myr and 5 Gyr ago; ∼70 per cent of these sources are oxygen-rich stars, while ∼30 per cent are C-stars. The sample of the most obscured AGB stars, accounting for ∼25 per cent of the total sample, is composed almost entirely by carbon stars. The distribution in the colour–colour ([3.6] − [4.5], [5.8] − [8.0]) and colour–magnitude ([3.6] − [8.0], [8.0]) diagrams of these C-rich objects, with a large infrared emission, traces an obscuration sequence, according to the amount of carbonaceous dust in their surroundings. The overall population of C-rich AGB stars descends from 1.5–2 M⊙ stars of metallicity Z = 4 × 10−3, formed between 700 Myr and 2 Gyr ago, and from lower metallicity objects, of mass below 1.5 M⊙, 2–5 Gyr old. We also identify obscured oxygen-rich stars (M ∼ 4–6 M⊙) experiencing hot bottom burning. The differences between the AGB populations of the SMC and LMC are also commented.
AGB stars in the SMC: evolution and dust properties based on Spitzer observations / Dell'Agli, Flavia; García Hernández, D. A.; Ventura, P.; Schneider, Raffaella; Di Criscienzo, M.; Rossi, Corinne. - In: MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. - ISSN 0035-8711. - 454:4(2015), pp. 4235-4249. [10.1093/mnras/stv2298]
Titolo: | AGB stars in the SMC: evolution and dust properties based on Spitzer observations | |
Autori: | ||
Data di pubblicazione: | 2015 | |
Rivista: | ||
Citazione: | AGB stars in the SMC: evolution and dust properties based on Spitzer observations / Dell'Agli, Flavia; García Hernández, D. A.; Ventura, P.; Schneider, Raffaella; Di Criscienzo, M.; Rossi, Corinne. - In: MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. - ISSN 0035-8711. - 454:4(2015), pp. 4235-4249. [10.1093/mnras/stv2298] | |
Handle: | http://hdl.handle.net/11573/853738 | |
Appartiene alla tipologia: | 01a Articolo in rivista |
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