The effects of red supergiant mass loss on supernova ejecta and the circumburst medium

TL;DR

This paper investigates how mass loss in red supergiants influences supernova ejecta and the surrounding medium, highlighting the interaction between dusty ejecta and stellar winds or supernova remnants.

Contribution

It provides estimates of the interaction conditions between red supergiant ejecta and subsequent stellar winds or supernova ejecta, exploring their implications.

Findings

Interaction conditions between dusty ejecta and stellar winds estimated.

Implications for supernova remnants and circumburst medium discussed.

Highlights the role of mass loss in supernova evolution.

Abstract

Massive stars becoming red supergiants lose a significant amount of their mass during that brief evolutionary phase. They then either explode as a hydrogen-rich supernova (SN Type II), or continue to evolve as a hotter supergiant (before exploding). The slow, dusty ejecta of the red supergiant will be over-run by the hot star wind and/or SN ejecta. I will present estimates of the conditions for this interaction and discuss some of the implications.