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

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.