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From Stardust to Meteorites: The Synthesis of Inorganic and Organic Grains in AGB and Post-AGB Stars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2017

Sun Kwok*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada T2N 1N4

Abstract

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Infrared spectroscopic observations of the circumstellar envelopes of AGB and post-AGB stars have identified a variety of inorganic grains including amorphous silicates, crystalline silicates, silicon carbide, carbonates, corundum, spinels and possibly rutiles. Isotopic studies of meteorites have also identified similar species of presolar origin. The existence of aromatic and aliphatic features in the spectra of post-AGB stars suggests that organic compounds in solid-state form are made during the post-AGB phase of stellar evolution. These features show similarity with the IR spectra of kerogen, which is also found in meteorites. These grains therefore represent an important link between stars and the solar system.

Type
Astrochemistry
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004 

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