The infrared characteristics of circumstellar silicate grains

A theoretical study of the infrared emission from circumstellar shells around late-type giants is made, with the aim of deriving the infrared characteristics of the silicate grains condensing in these shells. A large grid of models has been compared with observations of optically visible Miras, IRC sources and OH/IR stars. From fitting the observed relation between the color temperature and the strength of the 10-micron feature, it is concluded that the ratio of the 3.5 to 10-micron absorption efficiencies of the dust is about 0.25, a factor of 2 less than a previous determination. Detailed modeling of the 2 to 13-micron spectrum of OH 26.5 + 0.6, IRC + 10011 and R Cas yielded a similar ratio. These detailed models also show that the shape of the 10-micron feature, particularly around 8 and 13 microns, varies from source to source. The derived 10-micron feature is narrower for larger dust column densities. These observed differences in the intrinsic shape of the 10-micron feature are not due to differences in size of the condensing particles. Probably they are related to structural or compositional differences in the condensing silicates.