The Extreme Scarcity of Dust-enshrouded Red Supergiants: Consequences for Producing Stripped Stars via Winds

Abstract Quiescent mass loss during the red supergiant (RSG) phase has been shown to be far lower than prescriptions typically employed in single-star evolutionary models. Importantly, RSG winds are too weak drive production of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and stripped-envelope supernovae (SE-SNe) at initial masses roughly 20–40 M ? . If single make WR SE-SNe, this shifts burden rare dust-enshrouded RSGs (DE-RSGs), objects claimed represent a short-lived, high-mass-loss phase. Here, we take fresh look purported DE-RSGs. By modeling mid-IR excesses full sample Large Magellanic Cloud, find that only one both high mass-loss rate ( M ? ? 10 ?4 yr ?1 ) optical circumstellar dust extinction (7.92 mag). This is WOH G64, it 14 originally proposed DE-RSGs actually enshrouded. The rest appear either normal without strong IR excess, or lower-mass asymptotic giant branch stars. Only additional object catalog (not previously identified as DE-RSG) shows excess. We conclude if do pre-SN enhanced stars, extremely capable removing ?2 material. rules out post-RSG pathway for luminous blue variables, SE-SNe. Single-star models should not employ -prescriptions based on these extreme any significant fraction