H- and He-burning central stars and the evolution to white dwarfs

The structure and evolution of central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPNe) is reviewed. CSPNe represent the rapid transitional stage between the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and the white-dwarf domain. It is shown that the whole evolution off the AGB through the central-star regime depends on the evolutionary history. The detailed evolution into a white dwarf is controlled by the internal stellar structure which, in turn, is determined by the duration of the preceding AGB evolution and therefore by the AGB mass-loss history. The evolution of hydrogen-deficient central stars has been a matter of debate since many years. Convective overshoot appears to be a key ingredient to model these objects. Various thermal-pulse scenarios with inclusion of overshoot are discussed, leading to surface abundances in general agreement with those observed for Wolf-Rayet central stars.Comment: 8 pages, 4 postscript figures, also available from http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry; invited review at IAU Symp. 209 "Planetary Nebulae", ASP, in pres