2015A&A...578A.115J

The late stages of stellar evolution are mainly governed by the mass of the stars. Low- and intermediate-mass stars lose copious amounts of mass during the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) which obscure the central star making it difficult to study the stellar spectra and determine the stellar mass. In this study, we present observational data that can be used to determine lower limits to the stellar mass. Spectra of nine heavily reddened AGB stars taken by the Herschel Space Observatory display numerous molecular emission lines. The strongest emission lines are due to H₂O. We search for the presence of isotopologues of H₂O in these objects. We detected the ¹⁶O and ¹⁷O isotopologues of water in these stars, but lines due to H₂¹⁸O are absent. The lack of ¹⁸O is predicted by a scenario where the star has undergone hot-bottom burning which preferentially destroys ¹⁸O relative to ¹⁶O and ¹⁷O. From stellar evolution calculations, this process is thought to occur when the stellar mass is above 5M_☉ for solar metallicity. Hence, observations of different isotopologues of H₂O can be used to help determine the lower limit to the initial stellar mass. From our observations, we deduce that these extreme OH/IR stars are intermediate-mass stars with masses of ≥5M_☉. Their high mass-loss rates of ∼10^–4M_☉/yr may affect the enrichment of the interstellar medium and the overall chemical evolution of our Galaxy.