Related papers: A bias-corrected luminosity function for red super…
The precise definition of the lower mass limit of red supergiant stars (RSGs) is an open question in astrophysics and does not attract too much attention. Here we assemble a spectroscopic evolved cool star sample with 6,602 targets,…
Most massive stars end their lives as Red Supergiants (RSGs), a short-lived evolution phase when they are known to pulsate with varying amplitudes. The RSG period-luminosity (PL) relation has been measured in the Milky Way, the Magellanic…
The binary fraction of unevolved massive stars is thought to be 70-100% but there are few observational constraints on the binary fraction of the evolved version of a subset of these stars, the red supergiants (RSGs). Here we identify a…
Hydrogen-rich (type II) supernovae (SNe) exhibit considerable photometric and spectroscopic diversity. Extending previous work that focused exclusively on photometry, we simultaneously model the multi-band light curves and optical spectra…
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…
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…
Red supergiants (RSGs) are cool and evolved massive stars exhibiting enhanced mass loss compared to their main sequence phase, affecting their evolution and fate. However, the theory of the wind-driving mechanism is not well-established and…
Stars with initial masses in the range of 8-25 solar masses are thought to end their lives as hydrogen-rich supernovae (SNe II). Based on the pre-explosion images of Hubble Space Telescope ($HST$) and $Spitzer$ Space Telescope, we place…
We present a monitoring study of SN 2004A and probable discovery of a progenitor star in pre-explosion HST images. The photometric and spectroscopic monitoring of SN 2004A show that it was a normal Type II-P which was discovered in NGC 6207…
For typical models of binary statistics, 50-70% of core-collapse supernova (ccSN) progenitors are members of a stellar binary at the time of the explosion. Independent of any consequences of mass transfer, this has observational…
Multi wavelength observations of Cassiopeia A (Cas A) have provided us with a strong evidence for the presence of circumstellar material surrounding the progenitor star. It has been suggested that its progenitor was a massive star with a…
Core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions mark the end of the tumultuous life of massive stars. Determining the nature of their progenitors is a crucial step towards understanding the properties of SNe. Until recently, no progenitor has been…
A search for the progenitor of SN~2010jl, an unusually luminous core-collapse supernova of Type~IIn, using pre-explosion {\it Hubble}/WFPC2 and {\it Spitzer}/IRAC images of the region, yielded upper limits on the UV and near-infrared (IR)…
One explanation for the absence of higher mass red supergiants (16.5 Msun < M < 25Msun) as the progenitors of Type IIP supernovae (SNe) is that they die in failed SNe creating black holes. Simulations show that such failed SNe still eject…
The availability of updated model atmospheres for red supergiants and improvements in single and binary stellar evolution models, as well as previously unpublished data prompted us to revisit the progenitor of low-luminosity type II-Plateau…
Based on an extensive grid of stellar models between 13 and 25 Mo and a wide range of metallicities, we have studied the light curves of core collapse supernovae, their application to cosmology and evolutionary effects with redshift. The…
Type Ia supernovae (SNe) serve as a fundamental pillar of modern cosmology, owing to their large luminosity and a well-defined relationship between light-curve shape and peak brightness. The precision distance measurements enabled by SNe Ia…
The pre-explosion observations of the type II-P supernovae 2006my, 2006ov and 2004et, are re-analysed. In the cases of supernovae 2006my and 2006ov we argue that the published candidate progenitors are not coincident with their respective…
We provide a characterization of the red supergiant (RSG) progenitor candidate for the nearby Type II-plateau supernova (SN) 2025pht in NGC 1637. The star was first detectable in 2001 by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and then again in a…
We identify red supergiants (RSGs) in our spiral neighbors M31 and M33 using near-IR (NIR) photometry complete to a luminosity limit of log L/Lo=4.0. Our archival survey data cover 5 deg^2 of M31, and 3 deg^2 for M33, and are likely…