Revisiting the red supergiant progenitors of core-collapse supernovae

I will present a reanalysis of the properties of the red supergiant (RSG) progenitors of several extragalactic core-collapse, Type II-Plateau supernovae, including SN 2012aw, SN 2013ej, SN 2004et, and SN 2008bk. The observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for these stars, from the optical to the infrared, are compared with model SEDs for Galactic RSGs, as well as with the observed SEDs of analogous RSGs in Local Group galaxies. As a result, new estimates of the stellar temperatures and luminosities for the progenitors are obtained, and through comparison with recent massive stellar evolutionary tracks, new inferences are made for the progenitors initial masses. I will place these in the context of the RSG SN progenitor mass spectrum and of the so-called "red supergiant problem."