AAS 243: The Race to Wait for the Next Galactic Supernovae: Multi-Messenger Astronomy and Red Supergiants

Complete poster available at aas243-aas.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=FD-47-59-52-08-8A-D1-35-43-D2-4D-30-D8-ED-9B-B0

Red supergiants (RSGs) denote a crucial stage in stellar evolution; they occupy the coldest region of the HR diagram for massive stars, which leads to either their explosive death as a supernova or a drastic shift in their evolutionary path back to warmer temperatures. They are also connected to many areas of astrophysics as they are progenitors of supernovae (IIP/L) and produce galactic chemical enrichment and high-energy phenomena, like neutrinos. We combine methods of massive star research with multi-messenger astronomy to prepare for the next galactic supernova. This once-in-a-generation opportunity will provide the next chance to measure EM waves, neutrinos, and gravitational waves all from one event.We reexamined and expanded known candidate galactic RSGs catalogs to prepare a list of possible SNe progenitors. We produced stellar characteristic profiles for each object and subsequently analyzed the overall characteristics of the sample. We tailored the catalog to resolve objects through their evolution along the RSG branch and their transition off. We collaborated with SNEWS and AAVSO to organize follow-up photometric monitoring to increase the likelihood of having repeated pre-explosion imagining, which is vital for tracing the connection between progenitor and SN and understanding the mechanisms that drive core collapse. We also assess our ability to take advantage of the inherent warning signal from the neutrino burst of CCSNe and our ability to determine directional information based on current and future neutrino detectors. We determine that using our catalog along with SNEWS’s coincidence network, which utilizes multiple neutrino experiments worldwide to provide a warning containing directional information to the science community, can significantly reduce the number of likely candidate progenitors.