Post-Asymptotic Giant Branch Evolution of Low- and Intermediate-Mass Stars. Preliminary Results

TL;DR

This paper presents preliminary results from modeling post-AGB star evolution, showing shorter timescales and altered luminosity relations due to updated microphysics, with implications for planetary nebulae formation.

Contribution

It introduces a new grid of post-AGB models with updated microphysics, revealing shorter evolutionary timescales and deviations in the mass-luminosity relation.

Findings

Post-AGB timescales are several times shorter than older models.

The mass-luminosity relation deviates from previous predictions.

Post-AGB timescales show only slight metallicity dependence.

Abstract

Preliminary results from an ongoing project to compute a grid of post-AGB models is presented. Our preliminary results show that stellar evolution computations that include an updated treatment of the microphysics predict post-AGB timescales that are several times shorter that predicted by older models. Also the mass-luminosity relation of post-AGB models deviates from that of older grids. In addition, our results suggest only a slight metallicity dependence of the post-AGB timescales. We expect these results to have significant consequences for models of the formation of planetary nebulae and their luminosity function.