Asymptotic Giant Brach Stars as Astroparticle Laboratories

Abstract

We show that the inclusion of axion emission during stellar evolution introduces important changes into the evolutionary behaviour of AGB stars. The mass of the resulting C/O white dwarf is much lower than the equivalent obtained from standard evolution. This implies a deficit in luminous AGB stars and in massive WDs. Moreover the total mass processed in the nuclear burning shells that is dredged-up to the surface ($3^{rd} D_{up}$) increases when axion emission is included, modifying the chemical composition of the photosphere. We conclude that the AGB is a promising phase to put constraints on particle physics

8 pages, 3 tables, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS