2006/09/12 by M. W. Feast, Michael Feast, Feast, Michael
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomical Observations and Instrumentation #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/0609318
5 pages, no figures, for, Why Galaxies Care About AGB Stars, ASP conf Ser, in press
arxiv created 2006/09/12 · openalex publication_date 2006/09/12 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This paper summarizes the conclusions of an extensive investigation of variable carbon AGB stars in our Galaxy. The zero-point of the period-M(bol) relation for Galactic C-Miras is found to be close to that in the LMC. The mean age of Galactic C-Miras is about 1.8 Gyr and their initial masses about 1.8 solar masses with some evidence that age decreases and initial mass increases with increasing pulsation period. Kinematic studies of Galactic C- and O-Miras show that the relative frequency of these two Mira classes depends on the age of the parent population. The lack of carbon stars in the Galactic Bulge seems due to a high oxygen abundance. The velocity dispersion of O-Miras allows one to distinguish between two possible models of Galactic kinematics.