Towards simulating the photometry, chemistry, mass loss and pulsational properties of AGB star populations in resolved galaxies

Abstract

Extended and updated grids of TP-AGB tracks have been implemented in the TRILEGAL population synthesis code, which generates mock stellar catalogues for a galaxy given its mass, distance, star formation history and age-metallicity relation, including also the Milky Way foreground population. Among the stellar parameters that are simulated, we now include the surface chemistry, mass-loss rates, pulsation modes and periods of LPVs. This allows us to perform a series of consistency checks between AGB model predictions and observations, that we are just starting to explore. We present a few examples of model--data comparisons, mostly regarding the near-infrared and variability data for AGB stars in the Magellanic Clouds.

5 pages, 3 figures, contributed talk to the workshop "Why galaxies care about AGB stars", Vienna, August 7-11, 2006