1998/10/29 by A. Lancon, Lancon, A.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9810474
10 pages, 3 figures. In "Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars", IAU Symposium 191 (Aug. 1998). To be published in PASP Conf. Series
arxiv created 1998/10/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Asymptotic giant branch stars are essential contributors to the near and mid-IR emission of intermediate age (0.1-1Gyr old) stellar populations. Detecting this light sets constraints on the star formation history in galaxies and, conversely, the search for AGB signatures in well studied populations will help us reduce some of the still large uncertainties in AGB models. This paper reviews how AGB stars are currently included in population synthesis models and which spectral features can be used to identify their emission in galaxy light; targets for observational tests are suggested, and some observational and theoretical difficulties are discussed.