2016/02/02 by A. Gonneau, A. Lançon, S. C. Trager +17 · 45 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Carbon fibers #Carbon star #Feature (linguistics) #Large Magellanic Cloud #Materials science #Milky Way #Physics #Spectral line #Stars #Stellar classification #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201526292
published in Astronomy and Astrophysics 589, A36 (EDP Sciences) · 29 pages, 21 figures, 9 tables, Accepted for publication in A&A
arxiv created 2016/02/02 · openalex publication_date 2016/02/02 · arxiv updated 2016/04/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We provide a new collection of spectra of 35 carbon stars obtained with the ESO/VLT X-Shooter instrument as part of the X-Shooter Spectral Library project. The spectra extend from 0.3 μm to 2.4 μm with a resolving power above ~8000. The sample contains stars with a broad range of (J − K) color and pulsation properties located in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. We show that the distribution of spectral properties of carbon stars at a given (J − K) color becomes bimodal (in our sample) when (J − K) is larger than about 1.5. We describe the two families of spectra that emerge, characterized by the presence or absence of the absorption feature at 1.53 μm, generally associated with HCN and C2H2. This feature appears essentially only in large-amplitude variables, though not in all observations. Associated spectral signatures that we interpret as the result of veiling by circumstellar matter, indicate that the 1.53 μm feature might point to episodes of dust production in carbon-rich Miras.