Commotion in their Motions: Proper Motion Anomalies of Nearby AGB Stars

Abstract

Proper motion anomalies (PMa) are often useful for identifying companions, but using this technique for large and luminous stars like Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars is problematic. We studied nearby AGB stars and their potential companions in a PMa catalog derived from Hipparcos and Gaia DR2 proper motion measurements. We found that companion configurations based on PMa for AGB stars are often implausible, such that the radius of the primary star is larger than the orbit of the putative companion. This may suggest an alternative origin of PMa in AGB stars, possibly surface brightness fluctuations due to their large convective surfaces.