J/A+A/403/943 Mass-loss rates of galactic AGB stars (Le Bertre+, 2003) ================================================================================ Galactic mass-losing AGB stars probed with the IRTS. II. Le Bertre T., Tanaka M., Yamamura Y., Murakami H. =2003A&A...403..943L ================================================================================ ADC_Keywords: Stars, carbon ; Mass loss ; Infrared sources ; Stars, distances Keywords: stars: carbon - stars: mass-loss - stars: AGB and post-AGB - ISM: evolution - galaxy: solar neighbourhood - infrared: stars Abstract: We are using the 2002 data-release from the Japanese space experiment IRTS to investigate the spatial distribution of galactic mass-losing (>2x10^-8_M_{sun}_/yr) AGB stars and the relative contribution of C-rich and O-rich ones to the replenishment of the ISM. Our sample contains 126 C-rich and 563 O-rich sources which are sorted on the basis of the molecular bands observed in the range 1.4-4.0{mu}m, and for which we estimate distances and mass loss rates from near-infrared photometry (K and L'). There is a clear dependence on galactocentric distance, with O-rich sources outnumbering C-rich ones for {tau}_GC_<8kpc, and the reverse for {tau}_GC_>10kpc. The contribution to the replenishment of the ISM by O-rich AGB stars relative to C-rich ones follows the same trend. Although they are rare (~10% in our sample), sources with 10^-6^M_{sun}_/yr History: * 28-Mar-2003: Original version * 12-Oct-2004: Positions added by B. Skiff. ================================================================================ (End) Patricia Bauer, Francois Ochsenbein [CDS] 12-Oct-2004