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The explosive fate of massive stripped Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars is a key openquestion in stellar physics. An appealing option is that hydrogen-deficient W-Rstars are the progenitors of some H-poor supernova (SN) explosions of TypesIIb, Ib, and Ic. A blue object, having luminosity and colors consistent withthose of some W-R stars, has been recently identified at the location of aSN~Ib in pre-explosion images but has not yet been conclusively determined tohave been the progenitor. Similar previous works have so far only resulted innondetections. Comparison of early photometric observations of Type Icsupernovae with theoretical models suggests that the progenitor stars had radii<10^12 cm, as expected for some W-R stars. However, the hallmark signature ofW-R stars, their emission-line spectra, cannot be probed by such studies. Here,we report the detection of strong emission lines in an early-time spectrum ofSN 2013cu (iPTF13ast; Type IIb) obtained ~15.5 hr after explosion ("flashspectroscopy"). We identify W-R-like wind signatures suggesting a progenitor ofthe WN(h) subclass. The extent of this dense wind may indicate increased massloss from the progenitor shortly prior to its explosion, consistent with recenttheoretical predictions.

A Wolf-Rayet-like progenitor of supernova SN 2013cu from spectral observations of a wind