THE YELLOW AND RED SUPERGIANTS OF M33

Yellow and red supergiants are evolved massive stars whose numbers and locations on the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram can provide a stringent test for models of massive star evolution. Previous studies have found large discrepancies between the relative number of yellow supergiants (YSGs) observed as a function of mass and those predicted by evolutionary models, while a disagreement between the predicted and observed locations of red supergiants (RSGs) on the H-R diagram was only recently resolved. Here, we extend these studies by examining the YSG and RSG populations of M33. Unfortunately, identifying these stars is difficult as this portion of the color-magnitude diagram is heavily contaminated by foreground dwarfs. We identify the RSGs through a combination of radial velocities and a two-color surface gravity discriminant, and after re-characterizing the rotation curve of M33 with our newly selected RSGs, we identify the YSGs through a combination of radial velocities and the strength of the O I [lambda]7774 triplet. We examine ~1300 spectra in total and identify 121 YSGs (a sample that is unbiased in luminosity above log(L/L sub([middot in circle])) ~ 4.8) and 189 RSGs. After placing these objects on the H-R diagram, we find that the latest generation of Geneva evolutionary tracks shows excellent agreement with the observed locations of our RSGs and YSGs, the observed relative number of YSGs with mass, and the observed RSG upper mass limit. These models therefore represent a drastic improvement over previous generations.