Yellow supergiants as supernova progenitors (Georgy)

Vol. 538
In section 1. Letters

Yellow supergiants as supernova progenitors: an indication of strong mass loss for red supergiants?

Work on archival images of host galaxies of supernovae has identified some progenitors as yellow supergiants (YSG). This could so far not be explained in the framework of single-star evolution. This Letter shows that single stars can explode as YSG, if the mass loss during the red supergiant phase (RSG) is increased above the standard prescription. This increased RSG mass loss is controversial, but supported by some observations.