Galactic bulge extremely reddened AGB

Applying individual corrections for interstellar extinction and adopting a common distance, we determined luminosities and mass-loss rates, and inferred the progenitor mass range from comparisons with AGB evolutionary models. The observed spectral energy distributions are consistent with a classification as reddened AGB stars, except for two stars, which are proto-planetary nebula candidates. For the AGB stars, we found luminosities in the range ~3000-30000L_{sun}_ and mass-loss rates ~10^-5^-3x10^-4^M_{sun}_/yr.

The corresponding mass range is ~1.1-6.0M_{sun}_ assuming solar metallicity. Contrary to the predictions of the evolutionary models, the luminosity distribution is continuous, with many O-rich AGB stars in the mass range in which they should have been converted into C stars already. We suspect that bulge AGB stars have higher than solar metallicity and therefore may avoid the conversion to C-rich.

The presence of low-mass stars in the sample shows that their termination of the AGB evolution also occurs during a final phase of very high mass-loss rate, leading to optically thick circumstellar shells.