We estimate the total dust input from the cool evolved stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud, using the 8 mu m excess emission as a proxy for the dust-production rate (DPR). We find that asymptotic ...giant branch (AGB) and red supergiant (RSG) stars produce (8.6-9.5) x 10 super(-7) M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1) of dust, depending on the fraction of far-infrared sources that belong to the evolved star population (with 10%-50% uncertainty in individual DPRs). RSGs contribute the least (<4%), while carbon-rich AGB stars (especially the so-called extreme AGB stars) account for 87%-89% of the total dust input from cool evolved stars. We also estimate the dust input from hot stars and supernovae (SNe), and find that if SNe produce 10 super(-3) M sub(middot in circle) of dust each, then the total SN dust input and AGB input are roughly equivalent. We consider several scenarios of SN dust production and destruction and find that the interstellar medium (ISM) dust can be accounted for solely by stellar sources if all SNe produce dust in the quantities seen around the dustiest examples and if most SNe explode in dense regions where much of the ISM dust is shielded from the shocks. We find that AGB stars contribute only 2.1% of the ISM dust. Without a net positive contribution from SNe to the dust budget, this suggests that dust must grow in the ISM or be formed by another unknown mechanism.
Context. Mass loss is one of the fundamental properties of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, and through the enrichment of the interstellar medium, AGB stars are key players in the life cycle of ...dust and gas in the universe. However, a quantitative understanding of the mass-loss process is still largely lacking. Aims. We aim to investigate mass loss and luminosity in a large sample of evolved stars in several Local Group galaxies with a variety of metalliticies and star-formation histories: the Small and Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Fornax, Carina, and Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). Methods. Dust radiative transfer models are presented for 225 carbon stars and 171 oxygen-rich evolved stars in several Local Group galaxies for which spectra from the Infrared Spectrograph on Spitzer are available. The spectra are complemented with available optical and infrared photometry to construct spectral energy distributions. A minimization procedure was used to determine luminosity and mass-loss rate (MLR). Pulsation periods were derived for a large fraction of the sample based on a re-analysis of existing data. Results. New deep K-band photometry from the VMC survey and multi-epoch data from IRAC (at 4.5 μm) and AllWISE and NEOWISE have allowed us to derive pulsation periods longer than 1000 days for some of the most heavily obscured and reddened objects. We derive (dust) MLRs and luminosities for the entire sample. The estimated MLRs can differ significantly from estimates for the same objects in the literature due to differences in adopted optical constants (up to factors of several) and details in the radiative transfer modelling. Updated parameters for the super-AGB candidate MSX SMC 055 (IRAS 00483−7347) are presented. Its current mass is estimated to be 8.5 ± 1.6 M⊙, suggesting an initial mass well above 8 M⊙ in agreement with estimates based on its large Rubidium abundance. Using synthetic photometry, we present and discuss colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams which can be expected from the James Webb Space Telescope.
ABSTRACT
We investigate the occurrence of crystalline silicates in oxygen‐rich evolved stars across a range of metallicities and mass‐loss rates. It has been suggested that the crystalline silicate ...feature strength increases with increasing mass‐loss rate, implying a correlation between lattice structure and wind density. To test this, we analyse Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph and Infrared Space Observatory Short Wavelength Spectrometer spectra of 217 oxygen‐rich asymptotic giant branch and 98 red supergiants in the Milky Way, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and Galactic globular clusters. These encompass a range of spectral morphologies from the spectrally rich which exhibit a wealth of crystalline and amorphous silicate features to ‘naked’ (dust‐free) stars. We combine spectroscopic and photometric observations with the grams grid of radiative transfer models to derive (dust) mass‐loss rates and temperature. We then measure the strength of the crystalline silicate bands at 23, 28 and 33 μm. We detect crystalline silicates in stars with dust mass‐loss rates which span over 3 dex, down to rates of ∼10−9 M⊙ yr−1. Detections of crystalline silicates are more prevalent in higher mass‐loss rate objects, though the highest mass‐loss rate objects do not show the 23‐μm feature, possibly due to the low temperature of the forsterite grains or it may indicate that the 23‐μm band is going into absorption due to high column density. Furthermore, we detect a change in the crystalline silicate mineralogy with metallicity, with enstatite seen increasingly at low metallicity.
Abstract
It is critical for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) science that instrumental units are converted to physical units. We detail the design of the JWST absolute flux calibration program that ...has the core goal of ensuring a robust flux calibration internal to and between all the science instruments for both point and extended source science. This program will observe a sample of calibration stars that have been extensively vetted based mainly on Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite observations. The program uses multiple stars of three different, well-understood types (hot stars, A dwarfs, and solar analogs) to allow for the statistical (within a type) and systematic (between types) uncertainties to be quantified. The program explicitly includes observations to calibrate every instrument mode, further vet the set of calibration stars, measure the instrumental repeatability, measure the relative calibration between subarrays and full frame, and check the relative calibration between faint and bright stars. For photometry, we have set up our calibration to directly support both the convention based on the band average flux density and the convention based on the flux density at a fixed wavelength.
ABSTRACT The Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope observed about objects during the cryogenic mission lifetime. Observations provided low-resolution ( ) spectra over m and ...high-resolution ( ) spectra over 10-37 m. The Cornell Atlas of Spitzer/IRS Sources (CASSIS) was created to provide publishable quality spectra to the community. Low-resolution spectra have been available in CASSIS since 2011, and here we present the addition of the high-resolution spectra. The high-resolution observations represent approximately one-third of all staring observations performed with the IRS instrument. While low-resolution observations are adapted to faint objects and/or broad spectral features (e.g., dust continuum, molecular bands), high-resolution observations allow more accurate measurements of narrow features (e.g., ionic emission lines) as well as a better sampling of the spectral profile of various features. Given the narrow aperture of the two high-resolution modules, cosmic ray hits and spurious features usually plague the spectra. Our pipeline is designed to minimize these effects through various improvements. A super-sampled point-spread function was created in order to enable the optimal extraction in addition to the full aperture extraction. The pipeline selects the best extraction method based on the spatial extent of the object. For unresolved sources, the optimal extraction provides a significant improvement in signal-to-noise ratio over a full aperture extraction. We have developed several techniques for optimal extraction, including a differential method that eliminates low-level rogue pixels (even when no dedicated background observation was performed). The updated CASSIS repository now includes all the spectra ever taken by the IRS, with the exception of mapping observations.
Abstract
A challenge in absolute calibration is to relate very bright stars with physical flux measurements to faint ones within range of modern instruments, e.g., those on large ground-based ...telescopes or the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We propose Sirius as the fiducial color standard. It is an A0V star that is slowly rotating and does not have infrared excesses due to either hot dust or a planetary debris disk; it also has a number of accurate (∼1%–2%) absolute flux measurements. We accurately transfer the near-infrared flux from Sirius to BD +60 1753, an unobscured early A-type star (A1V,
V
≈ 9.6,
E
(
B
–
V
) ≈ 0.009) that is faint enough to serve as a primary absolute flux calibrator for JWST. Its near-infrared spectral energy distribution and that of Sirius should be virtually identical. We have determined its output relative to that of Sirius in a number of different ways, all of which give consistent results within ∼1%. We also transfer the calibration to GSPC P330-E, a well-calibrated close solar analog (G2V). We have emphasized the 2MASS
K
S
band, since it represents a large number and long history of measurements, but the theoretical spectra (i.e., from CALSPEC) of these stars can be used to extend this result throughout the near- and mid-infrared.
Context. Mass loss is one of the fundamental properties of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars, and through the enrichment of the interstellar medium, AGB stars are key players in the life cycle of ...dust and gas in the universe. However, a quantitative understanding of the mass-loss process is still largely lacking, particularly its dependence on metallicity. Aims. To investigate the relation between mass loss, luminosity and pulsation period for a large sample of evolved stars in the Small and Large Magellanic Cloud. Methods. Dust radiative transfer models are presented for 101 carbon stars and 86 oxygen-rich evolved stars in the Magellanic Clouds for which 5–35 μm Spitzer IRS spectra are available. The spectra are complemented with available optical and infrared photometry to construct the spectral energy distribution. A minimisation procedure is used to fit luminosity, mass-loss rate and dust temperature at the inner radius. Different effective temperatures and dust content are also considered. Periods from the literature and from new OGLE-III data are compiled and derived. Results. We derive (dust) mass-loss rates and luminosities for the entire sample. Based on luminosities, periods and amplitudes and colours, the O-rich stars are classified as foreground objects, AGB stars and Red Super Giants. For the O-rich stars silicates based on laboratory optical constants are compared to “astronomical silicates”. Overall, the grain type by Volk & Kwok (1988, ApJ, 331, 435) fits the data best. However, the fit based on laboratory optical constants for the grains can be improved by abandoning the small-particle limit. The influence of grain size, core-mantle grains and porosity are explored. A computationally convenient method that seems to describe the observed properties in the 10 μm window are a distribution of hollow spheres with a large vacuum fraction (typically 70%), and grain size of about 1 μm. Relations between mass-loss rates and luminosity and pulsation period are presented and compared to the predictions of evolutionary models, those by Vassiliadis & Wood (1993, ApJ, 413, 641) and their adopted mass-loss recipe, and those based on a Reimers mass-loss law with a scaling of a factor of five. The Vassiliadis & Wood models describe the data better, although there are also some deficiencies, in particular to the maximum adopted mass-loss rate. The derived mass-loss rates are compared to predictions by dynamical wind models and appear consistent with them at a level of a factor 2–4. A better understanding requires the determination of the expansion velocity from future observations from ALMA. The OGLE-III data reveal an O-rich star in the SMC with a period of 1749 days. Its absolute magnitude of $M_{\rm bol}= -8.0$ makes it a good candidate for a super-AGB star.
We report on an analysis of the gas and dust budget in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Recent observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope enable us to study the ...mid-infrared dust excess of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the LMC. This is the first time we can quantitatively assess the gas and dust input from AGB stars over a complete galaxy, fully based on observations. The integrated mass-loss rate over all intermediate and high mass-loss rate carbon-rich AGB candidates in the LMC is 8.5 × 10−3 M⊙ yr−1, up to 2.1 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1. This number could be increased up to 2.7 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1 if oxygen-rich stars are included. This is overall consistent with theoretical expectations, considering the star formation rate (SFR) when these low- and intermediate-mass stars where formed, and the initial mass functions. AGB stars are one of the most important gas sources in the LMC, with supernovae (SNe), which produces about 2–4 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1. At the moment, the SFR exceeds the gas feedback from AGB stars and SNe in the LMC, and the current star formation depends on gas already present in the ISM. This suggests that as the gas in the ISM is exhausted, the SFR will eventually decline in the LMC, unless gas is supplied externally. Our estimates suggest ‘a missing dust-mass problem’ in the LMC, which is similarly found in high-z galaxies: the accumulated dust mass from AGB stars and possibly SNe over the dust lifetime (400–800 Myr) is significant less than the dust mass in the ISM. Another dust source is required, possibly related to star-forming regions.
Abstract
We use data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to search for, and set limits on, optical to near-infrared photometric variability of the well-vetted, candidate James Webb ...Space Telescope (JWST) spectrophotometric standards. Our search of 37 of these candidate standards has revealed measurable periodic variability in 15 stars. The majority of those show variability that is less than half a percent; however, four stars are observed to vary photometrically, from minimum to maximum flux, by more than 1% (the G dwarf HD 38949 and three fainter A dwarfs). Variability of this size would likely impact the error budget in the spectrophotometric calibration of the science instruments aboard JWST. For the 22 candidate standards with no detected variability, we report upper limits on the observed changes in flux. Despite some systematic noise, all stars brighter than 12th magnitude in the TESS band show a 3
σ
upper limit on the total change in brightness of less than half a percent on timescales between an hour and multiple weeks, empirically establishing their suitability as spectrophotometric standards. We further discuss the value and limits of high-cadence, high-precision photometric monitoring with TESS as a tool to vet the suitability of stars to act as spectrophotometric standards.
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