The Red Supergiants: Crucial Signposts for the Fate of Massive Stars
A special issue of Galaxies (ISSN 2075-4434).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2025 | Viewed by 286
Special Issue Editor
Interests: massive stars; stellar populations; galaxtic structure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The majority of massive stars, typically 9 to about 40 solar masses, will pass through the red supergiant stage. Red supergiants have long been considered the end product of stellar evolution for stars in this mass range with a terminal explosion as a Type II supernova. They were often dismissed as generally well-understood, in comparison with the more massive hot stars and their strong stellar winds. But studies of SN progenitors in other galaxies have now brought into question the terminal state of the most luminous red supergiants. The final fate of red supergiants may depend on several factors. The most prominent may be their mass loss histories, but the mass loss mechanism for these largest stars is still debated. The recent “great dimming” of Betelgeuse demonstrated the significance of gaseous outflows from active regions on its surface. Similar phenomena are observed in red hypergiants, such as VY CMa with its history of episodic high mass loss events. Thus, the evolutionary state and possible final fate of many red supergiants is now a topic of current research. This volume will focus on recent research on red supergiants, their properties, mass loss rates, mass loss mechanisms, the role of surface activity, and questions about their evolutionary state.
References: This volume will supplement recent publications on massive stars in general, the recent outflow from Betelgeuse and the episodic mass loss records of stars like VY CMa, RW Cep, and others, and some recent publications in the MDPI Galaxies series, including the structure and evolution of stars, planetary nebulae, B-type stars, and AGB stars.
Prof. Dr. Roberta M. Humphreys
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Galaxies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- red supergiants
- mass loss
- hypergiants
- stellar winds
- outflows
- magnetic fields
- supernovae
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
