Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the progenitor sites of six nearby core‐collapse supernovae

The search for the progenitors of six core‐collapse supernovae (CCSNe) in archival Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) WFPC2 pre‐explosion imaging is presented. These SNe are 1999an, 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ds, 2000ew and 2001B. Post‐explosion imaging of the SNe, with the HST ACS/WFC, has been utilized with the technique of differential astrometry to identify the progenitor locations on the pre‐explosion imaging. SNe 1999br, 1999ev, 2000ew and 2001B are recovered in late‐time imaging, and estimates of the progenitor locations on the pre‐explosion imaging, with subpixel accuracy, have been made. Only the progenitor of the Type II‐P SN 1999ev has been recovered, on pre‐explosion F555W imaging, at a 4.8σ significance level. Assuming a red supergiant progenitor, the pre‐explosion observation is consistent with M ZAMS = 15–18 M ⊙ . The progenitors of the other five SNe were below the 3σ detection threshold of the pre‐explosion observations. The detection thresholds were translated to mass limits for the progenitors by comparison with stellar evolution models. Pre‐explosion observations of the peculiarly faint SN 1999br limit the mass of a red supergiant progenitor to M ZAMS < 12 M ⊙ . Analysis has been extended, from previous studies, to include possible detections of high‐ T eff , high‐mass stars by conducting synthetic photometry of model Wolf–Rayet star spectra. The mass limits for the Type II‐P SNe 1999an and 1999br are consistent with previously determined mass limits for this type of SN. The detection limits for the progenitors of the Type Ibc SNe (2000ds, 2000ew and 2001B) do not permit differentiation between high‐mass Wolf–Rayet progenitors or low‐mass progenitors in binaries.