New R Coronae Borealis stars discovered in OGLE-III Galactic bulge fields (P. Tisserand et al.)

Vol. 529In section 5. Galactic structure, stellar clusters and populations

New R Coronae Borealis stars discovered in OGLE-III Galactic bulge fields from their mid- and near-infrared properties

The variable, windy R CrB stage of AGB stars is shortlived and these stars are a rare glimpse of the last evolutionary stage before planetary nebula ejection and the production of post-AGB stars and white dwarfs. The authors show that they can recover the known Galactic R CrB stars in their search area using infrared photometry supplemented by light curve analysis. The technique should be extendable to other Local Group galaxies, especially the LMC and SMC.