Related papers: Failed Supernovae Explain the Compact Remnant Mass…
As part of a larger completed Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Snapshot program, we observed the sites of six nearby core-collapse supernovae (SNe) at high spatial resolution: SN 2012A, SN 2013ej, SN 2016gkg, SN 2017eaw, SN 2018zd, and SN…
Mass loss bridges the gap between massive stars and supernovae (SNe) in two major ways: (i) theoretically it is the amount of mass lost that determines the mass of the star prior to explosion, and (ii) observations of the circumstellar…
Growing theoretical evidence suggests that the first generation of stars may have been quite massive (~100-300 solar masses). If they retain their high mass until death, such stars will, after about 3Myr, make pair-instability supernovae.…
The majority of massive stars, the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae (SNe), are found in close binary systems. Zapartas et al. (2019) modeled the fraction of hydrogen-rich, Type II SN progenitors which have their evolution affected by…
Some hydrogen poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) exhibit bumps in the tails of their light-curves associated with hydrogen features in their late time spectra. Here we use the explosion parameters of one such SLSN -- SN 2017gci -- to…
The formation of supermassive Population III stars with masses $\gtrsim$ 10,000 Msun in primeval galaxies in strong UV backgrounds at $z \sim$ 15 may be the most viable pathway to the formation of supermassive black holes by $z \sim$ 7.…
Despite indications that superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) originate from massive progenitors, the lack of a uniformly analyzed statistical sample has so far prevented a detailed view of the progenitor mass distribution. Here we present and…
We use recent observations of type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) rates to derive, on robust empirical grounds, the distribution of the delay time (DTD) between the formation of the progenitor star and its explosion as a SN. Our analysis finds: i)…
Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn) are hydrogen-rich explosions embedded in dense circumstellar medium (CSM), which gives rise to their characteristic narrow hydrogen emission lines. The nature of their progenitors and pre-explosion mass loss…
Early observations of supernovae (SNe) indicate that enhanced mass loss and pre-SN outbursts may occur in progenitors of many types of SNe. We investigate the role of energy transport via waves driven by vigorous convection during…
Core-collapse supernovae (SNe) are the spectacular finale to massive stellar evolution. In this Letter, we identify a progenitor for the nearby core-collapse SN 2012aw in both ground based near-infrared, and space based optical…
Stars in the mass range 8 Msun<M<30 Msun are thought to end their lives as luminous supernovae that leave behind a neutron star. However, if a substantial fraction of these stars instead ended as black-hole remnants, without producing a…
Core-collapse supernovae (SNe) of Types Ib and Ic arise from hydrogen-stripped stars, while the latter are also stripped of their helium. Both SN types have a similar temporal evolution, suggesting broadly similar progenitors. However,…
While the modern stellar IMF shows a rapid decline with increasing mass, theoretical investigations suggest that very massive stars (>100 solar masses) may have been abundant in the early universe. Other calculations also indicate that,…
Given the limited availability of direct evidence (pre-explosion observations) for supernova (SN) progenitors, the location of supernovae (SNe) within their host galaxies can be used to set limits on one of their most fundamental…
We present Hubble Space Telescope imaging confirming the optical disappearance of the failed supernova (SN) candidate identified by Gerke et al. (2015). This $\sim 25~M_{\odot}$ red supergiant experienced a weak $\sim 10^{6}~L_{\odot}$…
Massive stars can end their lives with a successful supernova explosion (leaving behind a neutron star or, more rarely, a black hole), or a failed explosion that leaves behind a black hole. The density structure of the pre-collapse…
Stellar evolution theory predicts a "gap" in the black hole birth function caused by the pair instability. Presupernova stars that have a core mass below some limiting value, Mlo, after all pulsational activity is finished, collapse to…
We update our stellar population models for the time evolution of the number and mass of massive remnants - neutron stars and black holes - with a new initial mass-remnant mass relation for core collapse supernovae. The calculations are…
The observed mass distribution for the compact remnants of massive stars (neutron stars and black holes) and its relationship to possible mechanisms for the ejection of the envelopes of type II and Ib/c supernovae is analyzed. The…