Abstract
OH/IR stars lie on the tip of the asymptotic giant branch, where the mass loss rate can reach values as high as 10-4 M⊙ yr-1 The strong masing of the OH radical at 1612 MHz (λ = 18 cm) enables the detection of such objects throughout our Galaxy. The sensitive survey of the IRAS satellite now provides us with the infrared counterparts of most of them.
Because the circumstellar envelopes, where the maser emission originates, are of huge dimension (typically 1016 – 1017 cm) and because the saturated OH masers are radiatively coupled to the central star, hence reflecting the latters long periodic variations, a direct geometrical determination of the object’s distances is possible.
In this paper we summarize our knowledge of such geometrical distances and discuss the uncertainties and limitations of this method. We comment on the bolometric luminosities, which are obtained from a combination of ground-based and IRAS observations, and the shell structure of OH 26.5 + 0.6, which is one of the best studied OH/IR stars, is discussed in some detail.
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Herman, J., Habing, H.J. (1987). Distances, Luminosities, and Shell Structures of OH/IR Stars. In: Kwok, S., Pottasch, S.R. (eds) Late Stages of Stellar Evolution. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 132. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3813-7_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3813-7_7
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