| Issue |
EAS Publications Series
Volume 71-72, 2015
The Physics of Evolved Stars: A Conference Dedicated to the Memory of Olivier Chesneau
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|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 49 - 51 | |
| Section | Winds, Mass Loss, Jets | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/eas/1571009 | |
| Published online | 01 December 2015 | |
E. Lagadec, F. Millour and T. Lanz (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 71–72 (2015) 49-51
Luminous Blue Variables, Cool Hypergiants, and Supernova Impostors: The Role of Episodic Mass Loss
1 ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago de Chile, Chile
2 ESO, European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
3 Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
4 Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
5 School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
6 Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 106, Ensenada 22800, Baja California, México
The role of mass loss, especially episodic mass loss, in evolved massive stars is one of the outstanding questions in stellar evolution theory. IFU observations can provide superb information on the recent mass-loss history and the evolutionary stages. With VLT MUSE we have observed a representative sample of massive stars from different evolved stellar classes that underwent episodic mass loss, which gave rise to extended nebulae. The structural inhomogeneities and associated velocity differences in the nebulae are tracers of the mass-loss history. The simultaneous observation of all lines at each position in the nebulae provides very accurate line ratios for physical diagnostics.
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2015