Observational Constraints on the Progenitors of Core-Collapse Supernovae: The Case for Missing High-Mass Stars

Abstract Over the last 15 years, the supernova community has endeavoured to directly identify progenitor stars for core-collapse supernovae discovered in nearby galaxies. These precursors are often visible as resolved stars in high-resolution images from space-and ground-based telescopes. The discovery rate of progenitor stars is limited by the local supernova rate and the availability and depth of archive images of galaxies, with 18 detections of precursor objects and 27 upper limits. This review compiles these results (from 1999 to 2013) in a distance-limited sample and discusses the implications of the findings. The vast majority of the detections of progenitor stars are of type II-P, II-L, or IIb with one…

• EC
  European Commission

  Awards: 291222, FP7/2007-2013, 2007-2013, FP7/2007
• AC
  ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Awards: ST/I001123/1, ST/L000709/1, FP7/2007-2013, ST/L000709/1, L000709/1, ST/I001123/1