The post-AGB evolution of AGB mass loss variations

We present new numerical hydrodynamical modelling of the evolution of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) mass loss fluctuations during the post-AGB/Planetary Nebula phase. These models show that after ionization, the observable effects of the mass loss fluctuations disappear in a few thousand years, consistent with the fact that only few PNe have been found to be surrounded by “rings”. We derive the observational characteristics of these rings, and compare them to reported observations of the rings around NGC 6543, finding a good match of emission properties and line shapes. We predict small variations in the observable electron temperatures.