Abstract: Although red giants have been suggested as progenitors of planetary nebulae since the 1950’s, the exact mechanism of the transition from red giants to planetary nebulae has never been settled. In this review, we identify mass loss on the asymptotic giant branch as the most important physical process that leads to the formation of planetary nebulae. The dynamics of planetary nebulae is discussed in terms of the Interacting Stellar Winds model of Kwok, Purton and FitzGerald. We also propose the existence of two intermediate evolutionary stages: the Late Asymptotic Giant Branch and the Proto-Planetary Nebula phases that separate the Asymptotic Giant Branch and the planetary nebulae phase. Transition objects which belong to these two short, invisible phases are also discussed.
Publication Year: 1988
Publication Date: 1988-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 3
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