Related papers: Giant eruptions of very massive stars
Very massive stars occasionally expel material in colossal eruptions, driven by continuum radiation pressure rather than blast waves. Some of them rival supernovae in total radiative output, and the mass loss is crucial for subsequent…
Besides supernovae, few astrophysical processes can release close to 10^51 erg of energy. A growing number of stellar outbursts are now recognised to have energy releases matching those of faint supernovae. These transients can be triggered…
To anyone who has read a scientific journal or even a newspaper in the last six months, it might appear that cosmic gamma-ray bursts hold no more mysteries: they are cosmological, and possibly the most powerful explosions in the Universe.…
Massive stars end their short lives in spectacular explosions, supernovae, that synthesize new elements and drive galaxy evolution. Throughout history supernovae were discovered chiefly through their delayed optical light, preventing…
More than a decade after their discovery, astronomical Fast Radio Bursts remain enigmatic. They are known to occur at "cosmological" distances, implying large energy and radiated power, extraordinarily high brightness and coherent emission.…
Massive stars can exhibit giant eruptions with high mass loss shortly before their explosion as a core-collapse Supernova. These multiple giant eruptions (MGEs) may have a commutative effect that brings the star to a different state,…
I review recent progress on understanding eruptions of unstable massive stars, with particular attention to the diversity of observed behavior in extragalatic optical transient sources that are generally associated with giant eruptions of…
While the modern stellar IMF shows a rapid decline with increasing mass, theoretical investigations suggest that very massive stars (>100 solar masses) may have been abundant in the early universe. Other calculations also indicate that,…
Understanding how massive stars die as supernovae is a crucial question in modern astrophysics. Supernovae are powerful stellar explosions and key drivers in the cosmic baryonic cycles by injecting their explosion energy and heavy elements…
The study of the formation of massive stars presents complex challenges from both theoretical and observational points of view. The initial phases of evolution, for instance, remain almost hidden except at radio and IR wavelengths. In this…
The physical mechanism that allows massive stars to form is a major unsolved problem in astrophysics. Stars with masses $\gtsim 20$ $\msun$ reach the main sequence while still embedded in their natal clouds, and the immense radiation output…
Conversion from neutron stars to strange stars as a possible mechanism of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been discussed in previous works, although the existence of strange stars is still an open question. On the basis of this…
Gamma-ray bursts are sudden releases of energy that for a duration of a few seconds outshine even huge galaxies. 30 years after the first detection of a gamma-ray burst their origin remains a mystery. Here I first review the ``old''…
I review our current understanding of superluminous supernovae, mysterious events 100 times brighter than conventional stellar explosions.
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe. They appear connected to supernova remnants from massive stars or the merger of their remnants, and their brightness makes them temporarily detectable out to the larges…
Interstellar superbubbles generated by multiple supernova explosions are common in star-forming galaxies. They are the most obvious manifestation of mechanical feedback, and are largely responsible for transferring both thermal and kinetic…
Supernovae (SNe) are stellar explosions driven by gravitational or thermonuclear energy, observed as electromagnetic radiation emitted over weeks or more. In all known SNe, this radiation comes from internal energy deposited in the…
Supernovae (SNe), the luminous explosions of stars, were observed since antiquity, with typical peak luminosity not exceeding 1.2x10^{43} erg/s (absolute magnitude >-19.5 mag). It is only in the last dozen years that numerous examples of…
The explosion of a supernovae (SN) represents the sudden injection of about 10^51 ergs of thermal and mechanical energy in a small region of space, causing the formation of powerful shock waves that propagate through the interstellar medium…
During the years 1838-1858, the very massive star {\eta} Carinae became the prototype supernova impostor: it released nearly as much light as a supernova explosion and shed an impressive amount of mass, but survived as a star.1 Based on a…