The Problematically Short Superwind of OH/IR Stars

Paper in proceeding, 2015

The superwind is believed to be the tool with which stars with an intermediate main-sequence mass between 5 and 8 Me shed most of their stellar mantle to evolve from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) into the post-AGB and planetary-nebulae stages. For this to work, the superwind duration must be on the order of at least ten thousand years given a mass-loss rate of 10(-4) M-circle dot per year. This contrasts heavily with recent, independent results indicating that the superwind duration may be shorter by an order of magnitude.