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Paper: Planetary Nebulae as Probes of the Chemical Impact of AGB Stars
Volume: 378, Why Galaxies Care About AGB Stars: Their Importance as Actors and Probes
Page: 456
Authors: Stanghellini, L.
Abstract: Planetary nebulae (PN) represent the evolutionary fate of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stellar envelopes, and thus are ideally suited to study the chemical impact of AGB stars. Stellar evolution predicts elemental enrichment through the AGB phase, and convective dredge-up episodes allow the products of stellar evolution to reach the star’s outer layers. Planetary nebulae are probes of these processes, and are also probes of the environment at the time of formation of their progenitors, through the elements not affected by AGB evolution. Ultimately PN may be used to test AGB stars as actors and probes. Planetary nebulae are easily identified and detected in the Galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds, and beyond, and thus are probes of AGB evolution in stellar populations in different environments as well.
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