Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2008
We review the final stages of stellar evolution, supernova properties, and chemical yields as a function of the progenitor's mass. (1) 8 - 10 M⊙ stars are super-AGB stars when the O+Ne+Mg core collapses due to electron capture. These AGB-supernovae may constitute an SN 2008S-like sub-class of Type IIn supernovae. These stars produce little α-elements and Fe-peak elements, but are important sources of Zn and light p-nuclei. (2) 10 - 90 M⊙ stars undergo Fe-core collapse. Nucleosynthesis in aspherical explosions is important, as it can well reproduce the abundance patterns observed in extremely metal-poor stars. (3) 90 - 140 M⊙ stars undergo pulsational nuclear instabilities at various nuclear burning stages, including O and Si-burning. (4) Very massive stars with M ≳ 140 M⊙ either become pair-instability SNe, or undergo core-collapse to form intermediate mass black holes if the mass loss is small enough.