Mass loss of red supergiants: a key ingredient for the final evolution of massive stars

Abstract

Mass-loss rates during the red supergiant phase are very poorly constrained from an observational or theoretical point of view. However, they can be very high, and make a massive star lose a lot of mass during this phase, influencing considerably the final evolution of the star: will it end as a red supergiant? Will it evolve bluewards by removing its hydrogen-rich envelope? In this paper, we briefly summarise the effects of this mass loss and of the related uncertainties, particularly on the population of blue supergiant stars.

6 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference "The physics of evolved stars" dedicated to the memory of O. Chesneau (Nice, 2015). Will be published in EAS publications series