ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 94 08 03 9 v 1 1 3 A ug 1 99 4 BD + 30 ◦ 3639 : The infrared spectrum during post - AGB stellar evolution

We present a radiative-transfer calculation which reproduces the infrared spectrum of the planetary nebula BD +303639. We calculate the transfer process through absorption and scattering in a spherical-symmetric multi-grain dust shell. The emission of transiently heated particles is taken into account, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We obtain an acceptable fit to most of the spectrum, including the PAH infrared bands. At submillimetre wavelengths the observed emission is larger than the model predicts, indicating that large dust conglomerates (“fluffy grains”) may be needed as an additional constituent. The fit favour a distance of ≥ 2 kpc, which implies that BD +303639 has evolved from a massive progenitor of several solar masses. A low dust-to-gas mass ratio is found in the ionised region. The calculations yield an original mass-loss rate of 2×10 M⊙ yr −1 on the Asymptotic Giant Branch. Using this mass-loss rate, we calculate how the infrared spectrum has evolved during the post-AGB evolution. We show in particular the evolution of the IRAS colours during the post-AGB evolution.