Mass Loss Laws and Miras (Abstract)

Volume 28 number 2 (2000)

Lee Anne Willson

Abstract

(Abstract only) Over the past couple of decades, many astronomers have looked for formulae relating mass loss rates to the properties of stars. Such “mass loss relations” have been derived from observed mass loss rates and from theoretical computations. To compare these relations, the predicted mass loss rate vs. luminosity for each is found using a single set of evolutionary tracks (= a relation between R and L and M). Some interesting “pairings” of predictions result, as it becomes clear that different methods measure different aspects of the final mass loss epoch that takes Miras to white dwarfs.