The past and future evolution of a star like Betelgeuse

TL;DR

This paper explores the evolutionary stages of stars similar to Betelgeuse, analyzing how initial rotation and mass loss influence their development and final supernova type.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how rotation and mass loss rates affect the evolution and final fate of massive stars in the 9-25 solar mass range.

Findings

A 15 M$_\odot$ star always ends as a red supergiant.

The star explodes as a type II-P or II-L supernova.

Final outcome is robust against variations in initial rotation and mass loss rates.

Abstract

We discuss the physics and the evolution of a typical massive star passing through an evolutionary stage similar to that of Betelgeuse. After a brief introduction recalling various observed parameters of Betelgeuse, we discuss the Pre-Main-Sequence phase (PMS), the Main-Sequence (MS) phase, the physics governing the duration of the first crossing of the HR diagram, the red supergiant stage (RSG), the post-red supergiant phases and the final fate of solar metallicity stars with masses between 9 and 25 M$_\odot$. We examine the impact of different initial rotation and of various prescriptions for the mass loss rates during the red supergiant phase. We show that, whatever the initial rotation rate (chosen between 0 and 0.7$\times\upsilon_{\rm crit}$, $\upsilon_{\rm crit}$ being the surface equatorial velocity producing a centrifugal acceleration balancing exactly the gravity) and the mass loss rates during the RSG stage (varied between a standard value and 25 times that value), a 15 M$_\odot$ star always ends its lifetime as a RSG and explodes as a type II-P or II-L supernova.