UKIRT obs. of red supergiants in M31

In 2012 the Geneva evolutionary group updated their mass-loss prescription for RSGs with the result that a 20M_{sun}_ star now loses 10 times more mass during the RSG phase than in the older models. Thus, higher-mass RSGs evolve back through a second yellow supergiant phase rather than exploding as Type II-P supernovae, in accord with recent observations (the so-called "RSG Problem").

Still, even much larger mass-loss rates during the RSG phase cannot be ruled out by direct measurements of their current dust-production rates, as such mass loss is episodic. Here, we test the models by deriving a luminosity function for RSGs in the nearby spiral galaxy, M31, which is sensitive to the total mass loss during the RSG phase. We carefully separate RSGs from asymptotic giant branch stars in the color-magnitude diagram following the recent method exploited by Yang+ (2019, J/A+A/629/A91) in their Small Magellanic Cloud studies.