Speaker
Description
Red Supergiants (RSGs) are the canonical progenitors of Type IIP/L supernovae. While standard stellar evolution models depict them as quiescent stars undergoing steady-state mass loss, this picture is increasingly challenged by evidence of complex, dense circumstellar material (CSM) surrounding the explosion site. These interaction signatures indirectly point to intense, episodic mass-loss events occurring shortly before core collapse, the physics of which remain an open question. In this talk, I discuss a shift in observational strategy: moving from the forensic "autopsy" of supernova light curves to the "diagnosis" of the living progenitor. I will present results from a targeted optical/NIR monitoring campaign with INAF facilities designed to detect these precursor outbursts, aiming to characterize the final evolutionary stages of massive stars before the terminal explosion.