|
Some astronomers ignore low-mass stars because they aren’t very bright. However, stars with initial masses between about 0.8 Msun and 8 Msun (AGB stars) play an important role as the main site of the slow neutron capture (s-)process, which produces roughly half of the elements heavier than iron. In this talk, I will present results from my PhD thesis which explores several topics related to AGB stars and the s-process. The focus is on comparing theoretical models with observations the literature on planetary nebulae, post-AGB stars, and globular cluster stars. From this work, we will see have a better understanding of AGB nucleosynthesis, the chemical evolution of globular clusters, and the properties of helium-rich stars. |
|