Related papers: Possible binary progenitors for the type Ib supern…

We present observations of supernova (SN) 2008ge, which is spectroscopically similar to the peculiar SN 2002cx, and its pre-explosion site that indicate that its progenitor was probably a white dwarf. NGC 1527, the host galaxy of SN 2008ge,…

Recently the observationally derived stellar-wind mass-loss rates for Wolf-Rayet stars, or massive naked helium stars, have been revised downwards by a substantial amount. We present evolutionary calculations of helium stars incorporating…

Using resolved optical stellar photometry from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER) survey, we measured the star formation history (SFH) near the position of 85 supernova remnants (SNRs) in M33. We…

The recent detection of H-alpha emission in the supernova Type Ia SN 2002ic could be taken to mean that the elusive progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae have finally been identified. At first glance, the observation appears to support a…

The massive star origins for Type IIP supernovae (SNe) have been established through direct detection of their red supergiants progenitors in pre-explosion observations; however, there has been limited success in the detection of the…

We report multiwavelength observations of the highly offset (~22.4 kpc) SN 2024abvb, the sixth Type Icn supernova to date. With a peak magnitude of Mr = -19.55 +/- 0.11 mag, it is among the most luminous in the existing sample and shows…

Here are reviewed the insights from observations at optical and infrared wavelengths for low mass limits above which stars do not seem to end as luminous supernovae. These insights are: (1) the absence in archived images of nearby galaxies…

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,…

The nature of the progenitors of type Ia supernovae is still a mystery. While plausible candidates are known for both the single degenerate and double degenerate models, the observed numbers fall significantly short of what is required to…

This letter presents wide-field optical and and NIR UBVRI,Halpha,K' images of the galaxy M74 which were taken between 0.6-8.3 years before the discovery of the Type Ic SN2002ap. We have located the position of the SN on these images with an…

We present HST/WFPC2, GALEX and Chandra observations of the position of the type Ia supernova SN2007sr in the Antennae galaxies, taken before the explosion. No source is found in any of the observations, allowing us to put interesting…

Much difficulty has so far prevented the emergence of a consistent scenario for the origin of Type Ib and Ic supernovae (SNe). Here, we follow a heuristic approach by examining the fate of helium stars in the mass range 4 to 12Msun, which…

We model the late evolution and mass loss history of rapidly rotating Wolf-Rayet stars in the mass range $5\,\rm{M}_{\odot}\dots 100\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$. We find that quasi-chemically homogeneously evolving single stars computed with enhanced…

We combine new CCD UBV photometry and spectroscopy with that from the literature to investigate 19 Magellanic Cloud OB associations that contain Wolf-Rayet (WR) and other types of evolved massive stars. Our spectroscopy reveals a wealth of…

While it is generally accepted that Type Ia supernovae are the result of the explosion of a carbon-oxygen White Dwarf accreting mass in a binary system, the details of their genesis still elude us, and the nature of the binary companion is…

Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic) arise from the core-collapse of H (and He) poor stars, which could be either single WR stars or lower-mass stars stripped of their envelope by a companion. Their light curves are radioactively powered and usually…

We report the identification of a source coincident with SN 2009kr in HST pre-explosion images. The object appears to be a single point source with an intrinsic colour V-I = 1.1 and M_V = -7.6. If this is a single star it would be a yellow…

Type-Iax supernovae (SN Iax) are stellar explosions that are spectroscopically similar to some type-Ia supernovae (SN Ia) at maximum light, except with lower ejecta velocities. They are also distinguished by lower luminosities. At late…

We present spectroscopic and photometric observations and analysis of SN 2024abvb, a peculiar transitional Type Ibn/Icn supernova located at an unusually large projected distance from its host galaxy (21.5 kpc). SN 2024abvb displays an…

We present pre-explosion photometry of the likely progenitor star of the Type II supernova (SN II) 2017eaw in NGC 6946. We use a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of SN 2017eaw to perform relative astrometry with HST and Spitzer Space…