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Description
We explored an efficient method to identify evolved stars with oxygen-rich envelopes in the late asymptotic giant branch (AGB) or post-AGB phase of stellar evolution, which include a rare class of objects - the "water fountains (WF)." Our method considers the OH and H_2_O maser spectra, the near-infrared Q-parameters (these are color indices accounting for the effect of extinction), and far-infrared AKARI colors. Here we first present the results of a new survey on OH and H_2_O masers. There were 108 color-selected objects: 53 of them were observed in the three OH maser lines (1612, 1665, and 1667 MHz), with 24 detections (16 new for 1612 MHz); and 106 of them were observed in the H_2_O maser line (22 GHz), with 24 detections (12 new). We identify a new potential WF source, IRAS 19356+0754, with large velocity coverages of both OH and H_2_O maser emission. In addition, several objects with high-velocity OH maser emission are reported for the first time. The Q-parameters as well as the infrared [09]-[18] and [18]-[65] AKARI colors of the surveyed objects are then calculated. We suggest that these infrared properties are effective in isolating aspherical from spherical objects, but the morphology may not necessarily be related to the evolutionary status. Nonetheless, by considering altogether the maser and infrared properties, the efficiency of identifying oxygen-rich late/post-AGB stars could be improved.
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