%0 Journal Article
%@ 0035-8711
%A Sylvester, RJ
%A Skinner, CJ
%A Barlow, MJ
%D 1998
%F discovery:10096081
%I BLACKWELL SCIENCE LTD
%J Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
%K circumstellar matter, stars: mass-loss, supergiants, open clusters and associations: individual: h and χ Per, infrared: stars
%N 4
%P 1083-1094
%T Silicate and hydrocarbon emission from Galactic M supergiants
%U https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10096081/
%V 301
%X Following our discovery of unidentified infrared (UIR) band emission in a number of M supergiants in h and χ Per, we have obtained 10-μm spectra of a sample of 60 galactic M supergiants. Only three new sources, V1749 Cyg, UW Aql and IRC+40 427, appear to show the UIR bands; the others show the expected silicate emission or a featureless continuum. The occurrence of UIR-band emission in M supergiants is therefore much higher in the h and χ Per cluster than in the Galaxy as a whole. Possible explanations for the origin and distribution of UIR bands in oxygen-rich supergiants are discussed. We use our spectra to derive mass-loss rates ranging from 10−8 to 10−4 M⊙ yr−1 for the new sample, based on the power emitted in the silicate feature. The relationship between mass-loss rate and luminosity for M supergiants is discussed, and correlations are explored between their mid-infrared emission properties.
%Z This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.