|
“The Near-Circumstellar Environment of Late-Type, Evolved Stars” Dr. Athol Kemball University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Late-type, evolved stars are important contributors to the enrichment of the interstellar medium through stellar mass-loss, and also mark an important phase of stellar evolution. Their near-circumstellar environments have complex kinematics, dominated by stellar pulsations of the central star and asymmetries in gas motions, mass-loss, and local outflows. The dominant dynamical influences, including the relative dynamical role of magnetic fields, and the nature of the mass-loss process itself have been difficult to study observationally due to the extreme angular resolution required. We report on recent results from a long-term radio-interferometric synoptic study of silicon monoxide masers in the near-circumstellar environment of several late-type, evolved stars, and discuss the implications of these observations for models of the astrophysics in this region. |