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Colloquium
Supernova Remnants as Probes of the Life and Death of Massive Stars

Abstract

The remnants of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) exhibit intricate morphologies and a highly non-uniform distribution of stellar debris. In the case of young remnants (less than 5000 years old), their properties encode valuable insights into the inner processes of the SN engine, including nucleosynthetic yields and large-scale asymmetries originating from the early stages of the explosion. Additional characteristics of the remnants can reflect the nature of the progenitor stars and the interactions between the remnants and the circumstellar medium (CSM), shaped by the progenitor's mass-loss history. Hence, investigating the connection between young SNRs, parent SNe, and progenitor massive stars can be of paramount importance to delve into the physics of SN engines, and to investigate the final stages of massive star evolution and the elusive mechanisms governing their mass loss. In this talk, I will review recent advances in modeling young to middle-aged SNRs, focusing on investigations aimed at linking the observed physical and chemical properties of SNRs to their progenitor stars and SN explosions, thus telling us about life and death of massive stars.