On the progenitors of core-collapse 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.

Graphite grains in supernova ejecta – Insights from a noble gas study of 91 individual KFC1 presolar graphite grains from the Murchison meteorite

“…The modeled 12 C/ 13 C ratios of novae are also very low (0.3-1.8), while the 20 Ne/ 22 Ne depends on the composition of the involved white dwarf (carbon, oxygen (CO) or oxygen, neon, magnesium (ONe), José et al, 2004). Core-collapse supernovae mark the death of massive stars (>8 M ( , e.g., Leonard, 2010). Prior to the supernova, they go through a series of nuclear burning stages (H, He, C, Ne, O and finally Si burning), where the ashes of the most recent stage become the fuel for the next one.…”

Hydrogen-Rich Core-Collapse Supernovae

“…One way to answer the progenitor question directly is to identify the pre-explosion stars in high-resolution archival imaging of SN sites. This method and what we have learned from it are discussed in detail in "Supernova Progenitors Observed with HST" (see also [7] and [9] for reviews). Here we summarize the main results con-cerning Type II SNe (see also Table 2).…”

Hydrogen-Rich Core-Collapse Supernovae

“…This method and what we have learned from it are discussed in detail in "Supernova Progenitors Observed with HST" (see also [7] and [9] for reviews). Here we summarize the main results con-cerning Type II SNe (see also Table 2).…”