Dust from AGB stars

TL;DR

This paper reviews the formation and properties of dust in AGB stars, emphasizing laboratory measurements of dust grain optical properties and insights from presolar grains found in meteorites.

Contribution

It provides an overview of presolar grain studies and details laboratory methods for determining dust grain optical properties in AGB star environments.

Findings

Presolar grains reveal mineral compositions of AGB dust.

Laboratory measurements inform models of dust opacity.

Dust influences stellar atmosphere dynamics and thermodynamics.

Abstract

Dust is formed in the expanding atmosphere during late stages of stellar evolution. Dust influences the dynamics and thermodynamics of the stellar atmosphere by its opacity. The dust opacity depends both on the optical properties of the grain material as well as on the amount of dust present. A rich source of information on some mineral phases of dust in AGB stars comes from the study of presolar grains from meteorites. This paper presents a short overview of presolar grains studies and describes how the optical properties of dust grains are obtained in the laboratory.