Possible detection of the progenitor of the Type II supernova SN2023ixf

Abstract: Stellar evolution theory predicts multiple pathways to the explosive deaths of stars as supernovae. Locating and characterizing the progenitors of well-studied supernovae is important to constrain the theory, and to justify and design future surveys to improve on progenitor detections. Here we report the serendipitous pre-explosion imaging, by the {\it Hubble Space Telescope}, of SN2023ixf, one of the nearest extragalactic supernovae ever discovered, in the galaxy M101. The extremely red color and absolute magnitude M(F814W)=-5.11(+0.65/-0.47)mag suggest that the progenitor was a red supergiant. Comparison with stellar evolutionary isochrones suggests it is within the relatively low initial mass range of ~8-10Msun and that there is likely a lot of dust present at the supernova site.