We present the results of spectroscopic and photometric observations for three hot southernhemisphere post-AGB objects, Hen 3-1347 = IRAS 17074-1845, Hen 3-1428 = IRAS 17311-4924, and LSS 4634 = IRAS 18023-3409. In the spectrograms taken with the 1.9-m telescope of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in 2012, we have measured the equivalent widths of the most prominent spectral lines. Comparison of the new data with those published previously points to a change in the spectra of Hen 3-1428 and LSS 4634 in the last 20 years. Based on ASAS data, we have detected rapid photometric variability in all three stars with an amplitude up to 0.3 mag, 0.4 mag in the V band. A similarity between the patterns of variability for the sample stars and other hot protoplanetary nebulae is pointed out. We present the results of U BV observations for Hen 3-1347, according to which the star undergoes rapid irregular brightness variations with maximum amplitudes ∆V =0.25 mag, ∆B=0.25 mag, and ∆U =0.30 mag and shows color-magnitude correlations. Based on archival data, we have traced the photometric history of the stars over more than 100 years. Hen 3-1347 and LSS 4634 have exhibited a significant fading on a long time scale. The revealed brightness and spectrum variations in the stars, along with evidence for their enhanced mass, may be indicative of their rapid post-AGB evolution.Keywords: post-AGB stars, planetary nebulae, photometric and spectroscopic observations, photometric variability. * E-mail: ikonnikova@gmail.com 2
INTRODUCTIONThe post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) phase of evolution of intermediate-mass stars (M ZAMS = 0.8 − 8M ⊙ ) is the transition period from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) to planetary nebula nuclei.Protoplanetary nebulae are stars of spectral types from late G to early B with extended atmospheres surrounded by dust envelopes formed through intense mass loss at previous evolutionary phases. The dust envelopes gradually dissipate, which is reflected in the visibility of the stars at optical wavelengths.The studies of post-AGB stars were begun in the mid-1980s after the appearance of the IRAS survey. These objects were initially suspected and subsequently revealed among the supergiant stars with dust envelopes detected in this survey (Parthasarathy and Pottasch 1986;van der Veen et al. 1989;Hrivnak et al. 1989).An important feature of post-AGB stars is their photometric variability. The type of variability depends on the star's effective temperature, i.e., on its position on the horizontal evolutionary track. In particular, F-G supergiants with infrared excesses exhibit semiregular brightness variations with time scales from 40 to 130 days caused by their pulsational instability (Hrivnak and Lu 2000;Kiss et al. 2007;Arkhipova et al. 2010;Hrivnak et al. 2010). Hotter stars, early B supergiants with infrared excesses, exhibit photometric variability without any distinct periodicity with amplitudes from 0 m .2 to 0 m .4 in the V band on time scales from one day to several days (Hrivnak a...