The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey II: Constructing a volume-limited sample and first results from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope

Van Loon

Abstract

The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey (NESS) is a volume-complete sample of ~850 Galactic evolved stars within 3?kpc at (sub-)mm wavelengths, observed in the CO J = (2–1) and (3–2) rotational lines, and the sub-mm continuum, using the James Clark Maxwell Telescope and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment. NESS consists of five tiers, based on distances and dust-production rate (DPR). We define a new metric for estimating the distances to evolved stars and compare its results to Gaia EDR3. Replicating other studies, the most-evolved, highly enshrouded objects in the Galactic Plane dominate the dust returned by our sources, and we initially estimate a total DPR of 4.7 × 10-5 M? yr-1 from our sample. Our sub-mm fluxes are systematically higher and spectral indices are typically shallower than dust models typically predict. The 450/850 µm spectral indices are consistent with the blackbody Rayleigh–Jeans regime, suggesting a large fraction of evolved stars have unexpectedly large envelopes of cold dust.

Citation

Van Loon. (2022). The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey II: Constructing a volume-limited sample and first results from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1091 - 1110. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab2860

• Acceptance Date: Sep 17, 2021
• Publication Date: May 1, 2022
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 1091 - 1110
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab2860
• Keywords: catalogues; surveys; stars: AGB and post-AGB; stars: mass-loss; stars: winds; outflows
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article-abstract/512/1/1091/6549936?redirectedFrom=fulltext