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The luminosity distribution of RSGs to test their mass-loss rate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2016

Cyril Georgy  and
Sylvia Ekström
Cyril Georgy
Affiliation:
Geneva Observatory, Geneva University Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland email: cyril.georgy@unige.ch email: sylvia.ekstrom@unige.ch Astrophysics Group, Keele University Keele, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom
Sylvia Ekström
Affiliation:
Geneva Observatory, Geneva University Chemin des Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland email: cyril.georgy@unige.ch email: sylvia.ekstrom@unige.ch
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Abstract

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The red supergiant phase is an important phase of the evolution of massive star, as it mostly determines its final stages. One of the most important driver of the evolution during this phase is mass loss. However, the mass-loss rates prescription used for red supergiants in current stellar evolution models are still very inaccurate.

Varying the mass-loss rate makes the star evolve for some time in yellow/blue regions of the HRD, modifying the number of RSGs in some luminosity ranges. Figure 1 shows how the luminosity distribution of RSGs is modified for various mass-loss prescriptions. This illustrates that it is theoretically possible to determine at least roughly what is the typical mass loss regime of RSGs in a stellar evolution perspective.

Keywords

Stars: mass-lossStars: supergiantsStars: luminosity function
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 11 , General Assembly A29B: Astronomy in Focus , August 2015 , pp. 454
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016