Kaustav Das (Caltech): "The Faint and the Furious: What are the Lowest Mass Stars that Explode as Core-Collapse Supernovae?"

Core-collapse supernovae (CC SNe)—the explosive deaths of massive stars—play a pivotal role in galactic chemical evolution, star formation, and the creation of neutron stars or black holes. However, the fate of stars in the ~8–12 solar mass range remains poorly understood. These stars occupy the critical boundary between those that form neutron stars and those that end as white dwarfs. Despite comprising ~50% of massive stars that explode, such events are rarely observed, likely due to their connection with faint, hard-to-detect low-luminosity SNe. I will present results from the Zwicky Transient Facility Census of the Local Universe, the largest volumetric SN survey to date, focusing on the landscape of low-luminosity CC SNe. By examining candidate supernovae in this mass range, I will evaluate whether they can account for the missing SNe population and provide insights into the fate of these stars. I will conclude by discussing how future time-domain surveys will further advance this field.