Supernova Progenitors: Theory, Observation and Outstanding Questions

Supernovae play a prominent role in current theories of cosmology, galaxy evolution and stellar evolution. Key to understanding supernovae is a characterization of their progenitors. A robust body of theoretical work predicts the nature of these stars, but direct observations are lacking. Current theory and observations to date are summarized, as well as open questions in the field. Interferometric methods are proposed for the resolution of some of these questions