Carbon stars with oxygen-rich circumstellar dust shells Observational evidence for the onset of the carbon star phase

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Abstract

Results from the IRAS Low Resolution Spectrograph (LRS) are presented which show that some carbon stars are surrounded by circumstellar shells containing oxygen-rich silicate-type dust rather than carbon-rich dust. This observation suggests that these stars have quite recently become carbon stars because they are still surrounded by the last remnant of the oxygen-rich M-type phase. It also suggests a direct transition from M-type to C-type rather than through an intermediate S phase. The transition takes place in about 100 years. Using a simple statistical argument, the typical duration of the carbon star phase is estimated to be from 1000 to 10,000 years.

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