Related papers: SN 2005 gj: Evidence for LBV supernovae progenitor…
Type Ia supernovae are understood to arise from the thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, yet the evolutionary mechanisms leading to such events remain unknown. Many proposed channels, including the classical…
Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are very bright explosions that were only discovered recently and that show a preference for occurring in faint dwarf galaxies. Understanding why stellar evolution yields different types of stellar…
Supernova 1987A revealed that a blue supergiant (BSG) star can end its life as a core-collapse supernova (SN). SN 1987A and other similar objects exhibit properties that distinguish them from ordinary Type II Plateau (IIP) SNe, whose…
We present a comprehensive analysis of 32 type II supernovae (SNe II) with plateau phase photometry and late phase ($nebular$) spectroscopy available, aiming to bridge the gap between the surface and core of their red supergiant (RSG)…
We present the first 3D Radiation-Hydrodynamics simulations of partially-stripped ($M_\mathrm{core}\sim10M_\odot$, $M_\mathrm{env}\sim0.1-1M_\odot$) Yellow Supergiant ($L\sim10^5$, $T_\mathrm{eff}\approx5000-8000$K) envelopes, constructed…
We present spectra of the supernova (SN) impostor AT 2016blu spanning over a decade. This transient exhibits quasiperiodic outbursts with a $\sim$113 d period, likely triggered by periastron encounters in an eccentric binary system where…
By comparing the properties of Red Supergiant (RSG) supernova progenitors to those of field RSGs, it has been claimed that there is an absence of progenitors with luminosities $L$ above $\log(L/L_\odot) > 5.2$. This is in tension with the…
We study the nature of long gamma ray burst (LGRB) progenitors using cosmological simulations of structure formation and galactic evolution. LGRBs are potentially excellent tracers of stellar evolution in the early universe. We developed a…
Recent evidence of a young progenitor population for many Type-Ia SNe (SNe-Ia) raises the possibility that evolved intermediate-mass progenitor stars may be detected in pre-explosion images. NGC 1316, a radio galaxy in the Fornax cluster,…
Supernova (SN) 1987A was a peculiar H-rich event with a long-rising (LR) light curve (LC), stemming from a compact blue supergiant star (BSG). Only a few similar events have been presented in the literature. We present new data for a sample…
Luminous Blue Variables are massive evolved stars, here we introduce this outstanding class of objects. Described are the specific characteristics, the evolutionary state and what they are connected to other phases and types of massive…
The progenitors of Type IIP supernovae (SNe) are known to be red supergiants, but their properties are not well determined. We employ hydrodynamical modelling to investigate the explosion characteristics of eight Type IIP supernovae, and…
We have identified a luminous star at the position of supernova (SN) 2011dh/PTF11eon, in pre-SN archival, multi-band images of the nearby, nearly face-on galaxy Messier 51 (M51) obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope with the Advanced…
We present early-time photometric and spectroscopic observations of supernova (SN) 2009kr in NGC 1832. We find that its properties to date support its classification as Type II-linear (SN II-L), a relatively rare subclass of core-collapse…
We present nebular phase optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of the Type Ia supernova (SN) 2017cbv. The early light curves of SN~2017cbv showed a prominent blue bump in the $U$, $B$ and $g$ bands lasting for $\sim$5 d. One interpretation…
Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs) are a class of extragalactic transients notable for their rapid rise and fade times, blue colour and accompanying luminous X-ray and radio emission. Only a handful have been studied in detail…
Recent supernova and transient surveys have revealed an increasing number of non-terminal stellar eruptions. Though the progenitor class of these eruptions includes the most luminous stars, little is known of the pre-supernova mechanics of…
The progenitor of SN 2005cs, in the galaxy M51, is identified in pre-explosion HST ACS WFC imaging. Differential astrometry, with post-explosion ACS HRC F555W images, permitted the identification of the progenitor with an accuracy of…
Here we examine 12 Galactic clusters and OB associations containing Wolf-Rayet stars (W-Rs) and/or Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs), in order to assess the progentor masses of these evolved massive stars. We find that in the Milky Way,…
Little is observationally known about the progenitors of Type Ibc supernovae (SNe) or the typical activity of SNe progenitors in their final years. Here, we analyze deep Large Binocular Telescope imaging data spanning the 4 years before and…