The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey II: Constructing a volume-limited sample and first results from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Issue 1 (17th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Scicluna, P; Kemper, F; McDonald, I; Srinivasan, S; Trejo, A; Wallström, S H J; Wouterloot, J G A; Cami, J; Greaves, J; He, Jinhua; Hoai, D T; Kim, Hyosun; Jones, O C; Shinnaga, H; Clark, C J R; Dharmawardena, T; Holland, W; Imai, H; van Loon, J Th; Menten, K M; Wesson, R; Chawner, H; Feng, S; Goldman, S; Liu, F C; MacIsaac, H; Tang, J; Zeegers, S; Amada, K; Antoniou, V; Bemis, A; Boyer, M L; Chapman, S; Chen, X; Cho, S-H; Cui, L; Dell'Agli, F; Friberg, P; Fukaya, S; Gomez, H; Gong, Y; Hadjara, M; Haswell, C; Hirano, N; Hony, S; Izumiura, H; Jeste, M; Jiang, X; Kaminski, T; Keaveney, N; Kim, J; Kraemer, K E; Kuan, Y-J; Lagadec, E; Lee, C F; Li, D; Liu, S-Y; Liu, T; de Looze, I; Lykou, F; Maraston, C; Marshall, J P; Matsuura, M; Min, C; Otsuka, M; Oyadomari, M; Parsons, H; Patel, N A; Peeters, E; Pham, T A; Qiu, J; Randall, S; Rau, G; Redman, M P; Richards, A M S; Serjeant, S; Shi, C; Sloan, G C; Smith, M W L; Suh, K-W; Toalá, J A; Uttenthaler, S; Ventura, P; Wang, B; Yamamura, I; Yang, T; Yun, Y; Zhang, F; Zhang, Y; Zhao, G; Zhu, M; Zijlstra, A A;
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 512:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 1091
• Page End: 1110
• Publication Date: 2022-03-17
• Subjects: catalogues -- surveys -- stars: AGB and post-AGB -- stars: mass-loss -- stars: winds, outflows; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stab2860
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

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 $\mu$ m spectral indices are consistent with the blackbody Rayleigh–Jeans regime, suggesting a large fraction of evolved stars have unexpectedly large envelopes of cold dust.