Fast Winds and Mass Loss from Metal-Poor Field Giants

Echelle spectra of the infrared He I Delta *l10830 line were obtained with NIRSPEC on the Keck 2 telescope for 41 metal-deficient field giant stars including those on the red giant branch (RGB), asymptotic giant branch (AGB), and red horizontal branch (RHB). The presence of this He I line is ubiquitous in stars with T eff 4500 K and MV fainter than -1.5, and reveals the dynamics of the atmosphere. The line strength increases with effective temperature for T eff 5300 K in RHB stars. In AGB and RGB stars, the line strength increases with luminosity. Fast outflows ( 60 km s-1) are detected from the majority of the stars and about 40% of the outflows have sufficient speed as to allow escape of material from the star as well as from a globular cluster. Outflow speeds and line strengths do not depend on metallicity for our sample ([Fe/H]= -0.7 to -3.0), suggesting the driving mechanism for these winds derives from magnetic and/or hydrodynamic processes. Gas outflows are present in every luminous giant, but are not detected in all stars of lower luminosity indicating possible variability. Mass loss rates ranging from ~3 X 10-10 to ~6 X 10-8 M yr-1 estimated from the Sobolev approximation for line formation represent values with evolutionary significance for red giants and RHB stars. We estimate that 0.2 M will be lost on the RGB, and the torque of this wind can account for observations of slowly rotating RHB stars in the field. About 0.1-0.2 M will be lost on the RHB itself. This first empirical determination of mass loss on the RHB may contribute to the appearance of extended horizontal branches in globular clusters. The spectra appear to resolve the problem of missing intracluster material in globular clusters. Opportunities exist for 'wind smothering' of dwarf stars by winds from the evolved population, possibly leading to surface pollution in regions of high stellar density.