The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey

Low- to intermediate-mass (∼ 0.8−8 M ⊙ ) evolved stars contribute significantly to the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium in the local Universe. It is therefore crucial to accurately measure the mass return in their final evolutionary stages. The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey (NESS) is a large multi-telescope project targeting a volume-limited sample of ∼ 850 stars within 3 kpc in order to derive the dust and gas return rates in the solar neighbourhood, and to constrain the physics underlying these processes. We present an initial analysis of the CO-line observations, including detection statistics, carbon isotopic ratios, initial mass-loss rates, and gas-to-dust ratios. We describe a new data reduction pipeline for homogeneity, which we use to analyse the available NESS CO data from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, measuring line parameters and calculating empirical gas mass-loss rates. We present the first release of the available data on 485 sources, one of the largest homogeneous samples of CO data to date. Comparison with a large combined literature sample finds that high mass-loss rate and especially carbon-rich sources are over-represented in literature, while NESS is probing significantly more sources at low mass-loss rates, detecting 59 sources in CO for the first time and providing useful upper limits on non-detections. CO line detection rates are 81% for the CO(2−1) line and 75% for CO(3−2). The majority (82%) of detected lines conform to the expected soft parabola shape, while eleven sources show a double wind. Calculated mass-loss rates show power-law relations with both the dust-production rates and expansion velocities, up to a mass-loss rate saturation value ∼ 5 × 10 −6 M ⊙ yr −1 . Median gas-to-dust ratios of 250 and 680 are found for oxygen-rich and carbon-rich sources, respectively. Our analysis of CO observations in this first data release highlights the importance of our volume-limited approach in characterizing the local AGB population as a whole.

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Publication Details

Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Published
2025-11-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556298
Primary Topic
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey

Lieven Decock, Christopher J. R. Clark, F. Kemper, Hyosun Kim et al.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
article

The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey

Lieven Decock, Christopher J. R. Clark, F. Kemper, Hyosun Kim, I. McDonald, J. Cami, Shengyang Feng, S. Srinivasan, J. Greaves, S. T. Zeegers, Gioia Rau, J. G. A. Wouterloot, Jacco Th. van Loon, H. Chawner, R. Wesson, R. Chen, J. P. Marshall, T. E. Dharmawardena, A. Trejo-Cruz, DF Torres, F. C. Liu, S. H. J. Wallström, T. Danilovich, Jinkui Tang, Heather MacIsaac, Hiroshi Imai, T. Kamiński, Dong Li, P. Scicluna, Hiroko Shinnaga, K.M. Menten, Olivia Jones, M. Jeste, M. Matsuura, Jinhua He, Steven Goldman, M. Wijshoff, B. Willebrords, L. Umans
article en

Abstract

Low- to intermediate-mass (∼ 0.8−8 M ⊙ ) evolved stars contribute significantly to the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium in the local Universe. It is therefore crucial to accurately measure the mass return in their final evolutionary stages. The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey (NESS) is a large multi-telescope project targeting a volume-limited sample of ∼ 850 stars within 3 kpc in order to derive the dust and gas return rates in the solar neighbourhood, and to constrain the physics underlying these processes. We present an initial analysis of the CO-line observations, including detection statistics, carbon isotopic ratios, initial mass-loss rates, and gas-to-dust ratios. We describe a new data reduction pipeline for homogeneity, which we use to analyse the available NESS CO data from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, measuring line parameters and calculating empirical gas mass-loss rates. We present the first release of the available data on 485 sources, one of the largest homogeneous samples of CO data to date. Comparison with a large combined literature sample finds that high mass-loss rate and especially carbon-rich sources are over-represented in literature, while NESS is probing significantly more sources at low mass-loss rates, detecting 59 sources in CO for the first time and providing useful upper limits on non-detections. CO line detection rates are 81% for the CO(2−1) line and 75% for CO(3−2). The majority (82%) of detected lines conform to the expected soft parabola shape, while eleven sources show a double wind. Calculated mass-loss rates show power-law relations with both the dust-production rates and expansion velocities, up to a mass-loss rate saturation value ∼ 5 × 10 −6 M ⊙ yr −1 . Median gas-to-dust ratios of 250 and 680 are found for oxygen-rich and carbon-rich sources, respectively. Our analysis of CO observations in this first data release highlights the importance of our volume-limited approach in characterizing the local AGB population as a whole.

Astronomy and AstrophysicsVol. 704
Kagoshima University (JP), Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (MX), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), Western University (CA), Ames Research Center (US), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), Space Science Institute (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), U.S. National Science Foundation (US), Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (TW), National Taiwan Normal University (TW), University of Hertfordshire (GB), Duke University (US), Xiamen University (CN), The Open University (GB), Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KR), Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory (CN), Yunnan Observatories (CN), European Space Agency (FR), Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (ES), MIT University (MK), Royal Observatory (GB), Institute of Space Sciences (ES), East Asian Observatory (US), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (PL), Institute of Space Science - INFLPR Subsidiary (RO), Astronomy and Space (AU), Flatiron Health (United States) (US), Earth and Space Research (US), Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE), National Astronomical Observatories (CN), Flatiron Institute (US), University College London (GB), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (GB), Keele University (GB), Monash University (AU), New York University (US), University of Chile (CL), Cardiff University (GB), Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (US), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), KU Leuven (BE), Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, Canarie, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Chinese Academy of Sciences South America Center for Astronomy, National Research Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Academia Sinica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Vlaamse regering, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, National Science and Technology Council, Alliance de recherche numérique du Canada, Canadian Space Agency, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
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Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
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