Type II Supernovae and Their Binary Companion Stars

The search for binary companion stars left behind at type II supernovae sites is crucial to the understanding of massive stellar evolution, as well as binary stellar evolution. Many companion stars have been discovered, but the catalog is far from complete. By visually inspecting Hubble Space Telescope images of supernova locations, it can be determined if there is a star companion left at the site. Although for more recent supernovae, remnants may be left and may appear as binary stars. Through conducting aperture photometry, key traits like the magnitudes and maximum masses of these companion stars can be determined. Thus, the images can reveal the mass limits of the binary companion stars.