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arXiv · 2507.15960

Stellar evolution through the Red Supergiant phase

Sylvia Ekström·Cyril Georgy
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Abstract

Massive stars less massive than ~30 Msol evolve into a red supergiant after the main sequence. Given a standard IMF, this means about 80% of all single massive stars will experience this phase. RSGs are dominated by convection, with a radius that may extend up to thousands of solar radii. Their low temperature and gravity make them prone to lose large amounts of masses, either through a pulsationally-driven wind or through mass-loss outburst. RSGs are the progenitors of the most common core-collapse supernovae, the type II. In the present review, we give an overview of our theoretical understanding about this spectacular phase of massive stars evolution.

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Sylvia Ekström, Cyril Georgy. 2025-07-21. Stellar evolution through the Red Supergiant phase. https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies13040081

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