Carbon monoxide emission from stars in the IRAS and revised AFGL catalogs. I - Mass loss driven by radiation pressure on dust grains

Abstract

We surveyed infrared bright stars in the IRAS and Revised AFGL catalogs in the J = 2 → 1 rotational transition of carbon monoxide. Broad lines were detected in 39 objects not previously see in CO emission, including the unusual supergiant VY CMa, the bright giant star W Hya, and some stars first discovered in the IRAS survey about which very little is known. A plot of momentum in the outflowing wind, MV, deduced from a simple model for the CO emission versus momentum in the stellar radiation field, L<SUB>*</SUB>/c, reveals eleven objects for which MV appears to be larger than L<SUB>*</SUB>/c. These objects, nine of which are carbon-rich, are distinguished by either an early-type central star or a large outflow velocity V, or both.