Progenitors of core-collapse supernovae (NB. Tuesday)

by Prof. Stephen Smartt (Queen's University Belfast)

Tuesday 20 Jan 2009, 10:30 → 12:00 Europe/Stockholm

FB52

The progenitor stars of nearest supernovae (within 10-20 Mpc) can now be discovered in images taken before explosion. This allows stellar colour, luminosities and masses to be estimated. The link between progenitor star and supernova type is fundamental to understanding the explosions and energetics of these events. I will present the results of a 10 year survey to study the progenitors of nearby core-collapse supernovae. The type II-P SNe are confirmed to be red supergiants, but surprisingly no high mass progenitor has been discovered. The lack of detection of Ibc progenitors, and their high frequency of occurrence suggests interacting binaries must play a role. (Host: Claes Fransson)