We present HI line profiles for various models of circumstellar shells around red giants. In the calculations we take into account the effect of the background at 21 cm, and show that in some circumstances it may have an important effect on the shape
and intensity of the observed line profiles. We show that self-absorption should also be considered depending on the mass loss rate and the temperature reached by circumstellar gas. HI emission from circumstellar shells has been mostly reported from stars with mass loss rates around 10$^{-7}$ solar masses per year. We discuss the possible reasons for the non detection of many sources with larger mass loss rates that are hallmarks of the end of the AGB phase. Although radiative transfer effects may weaken the line emission, they cannot alone account for this effect. Therefore, it seems likely that molecular hydrogen, rather than atomic hydrogen, dominates the composition of matter expelled by stars at the end of their evolution on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. However sensitive HI observations can still yield important information on the kinematics and physical properties of the circumstellar material at large distances from central stars with heavy mass loss, despite the low abundance of atomic hydrogen.
We present a detailed study of the circumstellar gas distribution and kinematics of the semi-regular variable star RS Cnc on spatial scales ranging from ~1 (~150 AU) to ~6 (~0.25 pc). New modeling of CO1-0 and CO2-1 imaging observations leads to a re
vised characterization of RS Cncs previously identified axisymmetric molecular outflow. Rather than a simple disk-outflow picture, we find that a gradient in velocity as a function of latitude is needed to fit the spatially resolved spectra, and in our preferred model, the density and the velocity vary smoothly from the equatorial plane to the polar axis. In terms of density, the source appears quasi-spherical, whereas in terms of velocity the source is axi-symmetric with a low expansion velocity in the equatorial plane and faster outflows in the polar directions. The flux of matter is also larger in the polar directions than in the equatorial plane. An implication of our model is that the stellar wind is still accelerated at radii larger than a few hundred AU, well beyond the radius where the terminal velocity is thought to be reached in an asymptotic giant branch star. The HI data show the previously detected head-tail morphology, but also supply additional detail about the atomic gas distribution and kinematics. We confirm that the `head seen in HI is elongated in a direction consistent with the polar axis of the molecular outflow, suggesting that we are tracing an extension of the molecular outflow well beyond the molecular dissociation radius (up to ~0.05 pc). The 6-long HI `tail is oriented at a PA of 305{deg}, consistent with the space motion of the star. We measure a total mass of atomic hydrogen ~0.0055 solar mass and estimate a lower limit to the timescale for the formation of the tail to be ~6.4x10^4 years. (abridged)
We report the detection of the HI line at 21 cm in the direction of alpha Ori with the Nancay Radiotelescope and with the Very Large Array. The observations confirm the previous detection of HI emission centered on alpha Ori, but additionally reveal
for the first time a quasi-stationary detached shell of neutral atomic hydrogen ~4 arcmin. in diameter (0.24 pc at a distance of 200 pc). The detached shell appears elongated in a direction opposite to the stars space motion. A simple model shows that this detached atomic gas shell can result from the collision of the stellar wind from alpha Ori with the local interstellar medium (ISM). It implies that alpha Ori has been losing matter at a rate of ~ 1.2x10^-6 solar masses per year for the past 8x10^4 years. In addition, we report the detection of atomic hydrogen associated with the far-infrared arc located 6 arcmin. north-east of alpha Ori, that has been suggested to trace the bow shock resulting from the motion of the star through the ISM. We report also the detection by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) of a far-UV counterpart to this arc.
The HI line at 21 cm is a tracer of circumstellar matter around AGB stars, and especially of the matter located at large distances (0.1-1 pc) from the central stars. It can give unique information on the kinematics and on the physical conditions in t
he outer parts of circumstellar shells and in the regions where stellar matter is injected into the interstellar medium. However this tracer has not been much used up to now, due to the difficulty of separating the genuine circumstellar emission from the interstellar one. With the Nancay Radiotelescope we are carrying out a survey of the HI emission in a large sample of evolved stars. We report on recent progresses of this long term programme, with emphasis on S-type stars.
Context. The majority of stars that leave the main sequence are undergoing extensive mass loss, in particular during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of evolution. Observations show that the rate at which this phenomenon develops differs highl
y from source to source, so that the time-integrated mass loss as a function of the initial conditions (mass, metallicity, etc.) and of the stage of evolution is presently not well understood. Aims. We are investigating the mass loss history of AGB stars by observing the molecular and atomic emissions of their circumstellar envelopes. Methods. In this work we have selected two stars that are on the thermally pulsing phase of the AGB (TP-AGB) and for which high quality data in the CO rotation lines and in the atomic hydrogen line at 21 cm could be obained. Results. V1942 Sgr, a carbon star of the Irregular variability type, shows a complex CO line profile that may originate from a long-lived wind at a rate of ~ 10^-7 Msol/yr, and from a young (< 10^4 years) fast outflow at a rate of ~ 5 10^-7 Msol/yr. Intense HI emission indicates a detached shell with 0.044 Msol of hydrogen. This shell probably results from the slowing-down, by surrounding matter, of the same long-lived wind observed in CO that has been active during ~ 6 10^5 years. On the other hand, the carbon Mira V CrB is presently undergoing mass loss at a rate of 2 10^-7 Msol/yr, but was not detected in HI. The wind is mostly molecular, and was active for at most 3 10^4 years, with an integrated mass loss of at most 6.5 10^-3 Msol. Conclusions. Although both sources are carbon stars on the TP-AGB, they appear to develop mass loss under very different conditions, and a high rate of mass loss may not imply a high integrated mass loss.
An isolated HI cloud with peculiar properties has recently been discovered by Dedes, Dedes, & Kalberla (2008, A&A, 491, L45) with the 300-m Arecibo telescope, and subsequently imaged with the VLA. It has an angular size of ~6, and the HI emission has
a narrow line profile of width ~ 3 km/s. We explore the possibility that this cloud could be associated with a circumstellar envelope ejected by an evolved star. Observations were made in the rotational lines of CO with the IRAM-30m telescope, on three positions in the cloud, and a total-power mapping in the HI line was obtained with the Nancay Radio Telescope. CO was not detected and seems too underabundant in this cloud to be a classical late-type star circumstellar envelope. On the other hand, the HI emission is compatible with the detached-shell model that we developed for representing the external environments of AGB stars. We propose that this cloud could be a fossil circumstellar shell left over from a system that is now in a post-planetary-nebula phase. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out that it is a Galactic cloud or a member of the Local Group, although the narrow line profile would be atypical in both cases.
Y CVn is a carbon star surrounded by a detached dust shell that has been imaged by the Infrared Space Observatory at 90 microns. With the Nancay Radio Telescope we have studied the gaseous counterpart in the 21-cm HI emission line. New data have been
acquired and allow to improve the signal to noise ratio on this line. The high spectral resolution line profiles obtained at the position of the star and at several offset positions set strong constraints on the gas temperature and kinematics within the detached shell; the bulk of the material should be at ~ 100-200 K and in expansion at ~ 1-2 km/s. In addition, the line profile at the central position shows a quasi-rectangular pedestal that traces an 8 km/s outflow of ~ 1.0 10^-7 Msol/yr, stable for about 2 10^4 years, which corresponds to the central outflow already studied with CO rotational lines. We present a model in which the detached shell results from the slowing-down of the stellar wind by surrounding matter. The inner radius corresponds to the location where the stellar outflow is abruptly slowed down from ~ 8 km/s to 2 km/s (termination shock). The outer radius corresponds to the location where external matter is compressed by the expanding shell (bow shock). In this model the mass loss rate of Y CVn has been set constant, at the same level of 1.0 10^-7 Msol/yr, for ~ 4.5 10^5 years. The gas temperature varies from ~ 1800 K at the inner limit to 165 K at the interface between circumstellar matter and external matter. Our modelling shows that the presence of a detached shell around an AGB star may not mean that a drastic reduction of the mass loss rate has occurred in the past. The inner radius of such a shell might only be the effect of a termination shock rather than of an interruption of the mass loss process.
