Many aspects of the evolutionary phase in which Asymptotic Giant Branch stars
(AGB stars) are in transition to become Planetary Nebulae (PNe) are still
poorly understood. An important question is how the circumstellar envelopes of
AGB stars switch from spherical symmetry to the axially symmetric structures
frequently observed in PNe. In many cases there is clear evidence that the
shaping of the circumstellar envelopes of PNe is linked to the formation of
jets/collimated winds and their interaction with the remnant AGB envelope.
Because of the short evolutionary time, objects in this phase are rare, but
their identification provides valuable probes for testing evolutionary models.
We have observed (sub)millimeter CO rotational transitions with the APEX
telescope in a small sample of stars hosting high-velocity OH and water masers.
These targets are supposed to have recently left the AGB, as indicated by the
presence of winds traced by masers, with velocities larger than observed during
that phase. We have carried out observations of several CO lines, ranging from
J=2-1 up to J=7-6. In IRAS 15452-5459 we detect a fast molecular outflow in the
central region of the nebula and estimate a mass-loss rate between 1.2x10^{-4}
Msun yr^{-1} (assuming optically thin emission) and 4.9x10^{-4} Msun yr^{-1}
(optically thick emission). We model the SED of this target taking advantage of
our continuum measurement at 345 GHz to constrain the emission at long
wavelengths. For a distance of 2.5 kpc, we estimate a luminosity of 8000 Lsun
and a dust mass of 0.01 Msun. Through the flux in the [CII] line (158 um), we
calculate a total mass of about 12 Msun for the circumstellar envelope, but the
line is likely affected by interstellar contamination.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication on A&
