SIMBAD references

We have obtained JHK photometry for 50 carbon stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud and medium-dispersion spectra for 37 of them. 39 of the stars have K>13mag. M_bol and log T_eff are derived from (J-K)₀ with the aid of available relations. The least luminous star has M_bol~-1.8mag; most of the stars are rather warm. The faint end of the M_bol range of the SMC C stars falls well below the lowest luminosity observed so far for C stars in Local Group dwarf spheroidals. Most of the stars with M_bol←2.7mag appear to be on the post-flash side of the locus for the onset of the first helium flash in double shell sources; for the fainter ones the choice between this mechanism or another one, so far unknown, is still open.