Related papers: Superluminous supernovae
Many aspects of the progenitor systems, environments, and explosion dynamics of the various subtypes of supernovae are difficult to investigate at extragalactic distances where they are observed as unresolved sources. Alternatively, young…
The explosive death of a star as a supernova is one of the most dramatic events in the Universe. Supernovae have an outsized impact on many areas of astrophysics: they are major contributors to the chemical enrichment of the cosmos and…
The cosmological standard model at present is widely accepted as containing mainly things we do not understand. In particular the appearance of a Cosmological Constant, or dark energy, is puzzling. This was first inferred from the Hubble…
Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) remain an intriguing topic in supernova (SN) transient astronomy. While the majority of SLSNe are shown to be explained by energy streaming from the newly born magnetar, there are others which are powered by…
Rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars) can release their enormous rotational energy via magnetic spin-down, providing a power source for bright transients such as superluminous supernovae. On the other hand,…
This chapter describes the current classification scheme of supernovae (SNe). This scheme has evolved over many decades and now includes numerous SN Types and sub-types. Many of these are universally recognized, while there are…
The development of observational techniques has inriched our knowledge of supernova remnants. In this paper, we review the main progresses in the last decade, including new discoveries of supernova remnants and the associated (rare type of)…
Red novae or luminous red novae are a class of optical transients that have emerged over the past two decades. They occupy an intermediate luminosity regime between classical novae and supernovae and are characterized by cool, slowly…
The interaction of a supernova with a circumstellar medium (CSM) can dramatically increase the emitted luminosity by converting kinetic energy to thermal energy. In 'superluminous' supernovae (SLSNe) of Type IIn -- named for narrow hydrogen…
Stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae can be divided into two broad classes: the common Type Ib/c supernovae (SNe Ib/c), powered by the radioactive decay of $^{56}$Ni, and the rare superluminous supernovae (SLSNe), most likely powered…
Neutron stars, the compact stellar remnants of core-collapse supernova explosions, are unique cosmic laboratories for exploring novel phases of matter under extreme conditions. In particular, the occurrence of superfluidity and…
Supernova remnants are beautiful astronomical objects that are also of high scientific interest, because they provide insights into supernova explosion mechanisms, and because they are the likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays. X-ray…
Supernovae arise from progenitor stars occupying the upper end of the initial mass function. Their extreme brightness allows individual massive stars to be detected at cosmic distances, lending supernovae great potential as tracers of the…
The discovery of the extremely luminous supernova SN 2006gy, possibly interpreted as a pair instability supernova, renewed the interest in very massive stars. We explore the evolution of these objects, which end their life as pair…
Type Ia supernovae are a powerful cosmological probe, that gave the first strong evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Here we provide an overview of how supernovae can go further to reveal information about what is…
Over the last 20 years, supernovae have become a key tool to constrain the expansion history of the Universe through the construction of Hubble diagrams, using luminosity distances to supernovae belonging to the "Ia" subtype. This technique…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe, whose origin and mechanism is the focus of intense interest. They appear connected to supernova remnants from massive stars or the merger of their remnants, and their…
The extreme luminosity and their fairly unique temporal behaviour have made supernovae a superb tool to measure distances in the universe. As complex astrophysical events they provide interesting insights into explosion physics, explosive…
Core-collapse supernovae are dramatic events with a rich phenomenology, including gravitational radiation. Simulations of these events in multiple spatial dimensions with energy- and angle-dependent neutrino transport are still in their…
SN 2007bi and SN 1999as are among the first superluminous supernovae discovered. SN 2007bi was suggested to be powered by the radioactive decay of a large amount (5 - 10 Msun) of 56Ni. SN 1999as has a similar spectrum to SN 2007bi. One…