INFRARED MODEL SPECTRA FOR EVOLVING RED SUPERGIANTS

Stars lose their masses constantly after their birth, but the stellar mass loss is especially prominent in the last stages of their lives. It has been believed that red superginats are losing their masses at rates of 10-8∼10-4M/yr. They are known to be asymptotic giant branch stars that are at the end stages of the evolution for the stars with zero age main sequence masses of 1∼10M. Red supergiants are often characterized by the thick dust envelopes and large amplitude pulsations. According to their energy spectra, chemical composition, they are divided into three main group; M-type Miras, C-type carbon stars, and OH/IR stars. The purpose of this work is to clarify the evolutionary aspects in the physical parameters of the red supergiants mainly from the direct interpretation of their infrared spectra.