Related papers: OGLE14-073 - a promising pair-instability supernov…
The light curve of Supernova (SN) 1993J is calculated using two approaches to radiation transport as exemplified by the two computer codes, STELLA and EDDINGTON. Particular attention is paid to shock breakout and the photometry in the U, B,…
We present observational data for a peculiar supernova discovered by the OGLE-IV survey and followed by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey for Transient Objects. The inferred redshift of $z=0.07$ implies an absolute magnitude in the…
An increasing number of so-called superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are discovered. It is believed that at least some of them with slowly fading light curves originate in stellar explosions induced by the pair instability mechanism. Recent…
Massive stars that end their lives with helium cores in the range of 35 to 65 Msun are known to produce repeated thermonuclear outbursts due to a recurring pair-instability. In some of these events, solar masses of material are ejected in…
Pair-instability supernovae (PISNe) are predicted thermonuclear explosions of massive stars with helium core masses exceeding $\sim 65M_\odot$ and synthesize substantial amounts of radioactive $\mathrm{^{56}Ni}$…
The abundance stratification in the ejecta of the normal Type Ia supernova 2002bo is derived by fitting a series of spectra obtained at close time intervals. A Monte Carlo code, modified to include abundance stratification, is used to…
Numerical studies of primordial star formation suggest that the first stars in the universe may have been very massive. Stellar models indicate that non-rotating Population III stars with initial masses of 140-260 Msun die as highly…
We show that the luminous supernovae (SNe) associated with ultra-long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be related to the slow cooling from the explosions of hydrogen-free progenitors extended by pulsational pair-instability. In the accompanying…
We present the SuperNova Explosion Code (SNEC), an open-source Lagrangian code for the hydrodynamics and equilibrium-diffusion radiation transport in the expanding envelopes of supernovae. Given a model of a progenitor star, an explosion…
We present the light curve of an unusual variable object, OGLE #7, detected during the OGLE search for microlensing events. After one season of being in a low, normal state, the star brightened by more than 2~mag with a characteristic…
The Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) LSQ14fmg exhibits exaggerated properties which may help to reveal the origin of the "super-Chandrasekhar" (or 03fg-like) group. The optical spectrum is typical of a 03fg-like SN Ia, but the light curves are…
Theoretical models suggest that the first stars in the universe could have been very massive, with typical masses $\gtrsim$ 100 \Msun. Many of them might have died as energetic thermonuclear explosions known as pair-instability supernovae…
We present data for LSQ14bdq, a hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernova (SLSN) discovered by the La Silla QUEST survey and classified by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects. The spectrum and light curve are very similar…
SN 2006gy radiated far more energy in visual light than any other supernova so far, and potential explanations for its energy demands have implications for galactic chemical evolution and the deaths of the first stars. It remained bright…
We present photometry and spectroscopy of PS1-14bj, a hydrogen-poor superluminous supernova (SLSN) at redshift $z=0.5215$ discovered in the last months of the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey. PS1-14bj stands out by its extremely slow…
Six binary-merger progenitors of Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) with properties close to those of the blue supergiant Sanduleak -69 202 are exploded by neutrino heating and evolved until long after shock breakout in three dimensions (3D), and…
Interactions between massive stars in binaries are thought to be responsible for much of the observed diversity of supernovae. As surveys probe rarer populations of events, we should expect to see supernovae arising from increasingly…
I review the physical properties of pair-production supernovae (PPSNe) as well as the prospects for them to be constrained observationally. In very massive (140-260 solar mass) stars, much of the pressure support comes from the radiation…
Context: It has been suggested that some supernovae (SNe) may be powered by a magnetar formed at the moment of the explosion. While this scenario has mostly been applied to hydrogen-free events, it may be possible also for hydrogen-rich…
With the same method as used previously, we investigate neutrino-driven explosions of a larger sample of blue supergiant models. The larger sample includes three new presupernova stars. The results are compared with light-curve observations…