2018MNRAS.475...55B

The fate of massive stars with initial masses >8 M_☉ depends largely on the mass-loss rate ({dot}M) in the end stages of their lives. Red supergiants (RSGs) are the direct progenitors to Type II-P core collapse supernovae (SNe), but there is uncertainty regarding the scale and impact of any mass-loss during this phase. Here, we used near and mid-IR photometry and the radiative transfer code DUSTY to determine luminosity and {dot}M values for the RSGs in two Galactic clusters (NGC 7419 and χ Per) where the RSGs are all of similar initial mass (M_initial ∼ 16 M_☉), allowing us to study how {dot}M changes with time along an evolutionary sequence. We find a clear, tight correlation between luminosity and {dot}M suggesting the scatter seen in studies of field stars is caused by stars of similar luminosity being of different initial masses. From our results, we estimate how much mass a 16 M_☉ star would lose during the RSG phase, finding a star of this mass would lose a total of 0.61^+0.92_–0.31 M_☉. This is much less than expected for {dot}M prescriptions currently used in evolutionary models.