On the Progenitors of Core-Collapse Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper reviews observational evidence of supernova progenitors, discussing how direct measurements of pre-explosion stars inform theories of stellar evolution, supernova mechanisms, and the existence of failed supernovae.

Contribution

It synthesizes recent observational data on supernova progenitors and explores their implications for stellar evolution and explosion models.

Findings

Progenitor stars are mostly identified as red supergiants.

Direct measurements help constrain supernova explosion mechanisms.

Evidence suggests some massive stars may fail to produce visible supernovae.

Abstract

Theory holds that a star born with an initial mass between about 8 and 140 times the mass of the Sun will end its life through the catastrophic gravitational collapse of its iron core to a neutron star or black hole. This core collapse process is thought to usually be accompanied by the ejection of the star's envelope as a supernova. This established theory is now being tested observationally, with over three dozen core-collapse supernovae having had the properties of their progenitor stars directly measured through the examination of high-resolution images taken prior to the explosion. Here I review what has been learned from these studies and briefly examine the potential impact on stellar evolution theory, the existence of "failed supernovae", and our understanding of the core-collapse explosion mechanism.