2006/09/22 by Leo Girardi, L. Girardi, Paola Marigo · 59 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Asymptotic giant branch #Initial mass function #Large Magellanic Cloud #Phase (matter) #Physics #Star (game theory) #Star formation #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065249
published in Astronomy and Astrophysics 462(1), 237-243 (EDP Sciences) · 8 pages, to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics
arxiv created 2006/09/22 · openalex publication_date 2006/10/24 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Using available data for C and M giants with Mbol in Magellanic Cloud clusters, we derive limits to the lifetimes for the corresponding evolutionary phases, as a function of stellar mass. The C-star phase is found to have a duration between 2 and 3 Myr for stars in the mass range from ~1.5 to 2.8 . There is also an indication that the peak of C-star lifetime shifts to lower masses (from slightly above to slightly below 2 ) as we move from LMC to SMC metallicities. The M-giant lifetimes also peak at ~2 in the LMC, with a maximum value of about 4 Myr, whereas in the SMC their lifetimes appear much shorter, but, actually, they are poorly constrained by the data. These numbers constitute useful constraints to theoretical models of the TP-AGB phase. We show that several models in the literature underestimate the duration of the C-star phase at LMC metallicities.