The authors have used IRAS data to produce an extensive, flux-limited survey of evolved stars in the Milky Way. They were able to produce a carefully selected collection of carbon-rich stars and a less exclusive sample of oxygen-rich stars for comparison. From these data, the authors are able to study the distribution of both types of stars in the Galaxy and estimate their local densities and total numbers. They use existing studies of the relations of CO line emission, thermal infrared emission, and mass loss to calibrate the mass-loss rate for stars in the sample and to estimate the corresponding total mass-return rate for intermediate-mass stars in the Milky Way. Finally, the authors estimate birthrates and lifetimes, attempt to identify the main-sequence precursors to the evolved stars, and discuss the role that these two types of stars have in altering the grain composition in the interstellar medium.
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A. et al. (1987) studied this question.