Related papers: Supernova Triggers for End-Devonian Extinctions
The mass-period or radius-period distribution of close-in exoplanets shows a paucity of intermediate mass/size (sub-Jovian) planets with periods ~< 3 days. We show that this sub-Jovian desert can be explained by the photoevaporation of…
Supernovae (SNe) powered by interaction with circumstellar material provide evidence for intense stellar mass loss during the final years leading up to core collapse. We have argued that during and after core neon burning, internal gravity…
Live $^{60}$Fe has recently been reported in a deep-ocean ferromanganese crust. Analysis of the isotopic ratios in the sample suggests that the measured $^{60}$Fe abundance exceeds the levels generated by terrestrial and cosmogenic sources,…
The spectacular outbursts of energy associated with supernovae (SNe) have long motivated research into their potentially hazardous effects on Earth and analogous environments. Much of this research has focused primarily on the atmospheric…
Recent observations suggest that many planetary-mass objects may be present in the outer solar system between the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. Gravitational perturbations may occasionally bring them into the inner solar system. Their…
The distribution of the orbits of close-in exoplanets shows evidence for on-going removal and destruction by tides. Tides raised on a planet's host star cause the planet's orbit to decay, even after the orbital eccentricity has dropped to…
I propose a scenario according to which the dense compact circumstellar matter (CSM) that the ejecta of many core collapse supernovae (CCSNe) collide with within several days after explosion results from a dense zone where in addition to…
We present the results of the observations performed in the occasion of the June 21, 2001 total solar eclipse, looking for visible photons emitted trough a possible radiative decay of solar neutrinos. We establish lower limits for the…
Supernovae are expected to occur near the molecular material in which the massive progenitor star was born, except in cases where the photoionizing radiation and winds from the progenitor star and its neighbors have cleared out a region.…
The causes of major and rapid transitions observed in biological macroevolution as well as in the evolution of social systems are a subject of much debate. Here we identify the proximate causes of crashes and recoveries that arise…
The effective extinction law for supernovae surrounded by circumstellar dust is examined by Monte-Carlo simulations. Grains with light scattering properties as for interstellar dust in the Milky-Way (MW) or the Large Magellanic Clouds…
Despite numerous mass extinctions in the Phanerozoic eon, the overall trend in biodiversity evolution was not blocked and the life has never been wiped out. Almost all possible catastrophic events (large igneous province, asteroid impact,…
Massive stars with a core-halo structure are interesting objects for stellar physics and hydrodynamics. Using simulations for stellar evolution, radiation hydrodynamics, and radiative transfer, we study the explosion of stars with an…
Recent observations of a large fraction of Type II supernovae show traces of dense circumstellar medium (CSM) very close to the progenitor star. If this CSM is created by eruptive mass loss several months before core-collapse, the eruption…
Core-collapse supernovae, the culmination of massive stellar evolution, are spectacular astronomical events and the principle actors in the story of our elemental origins. Our understanding of these events, while still incomplete, centers…
When a massive star ends its life, its core collapses, forming a neutron star or black hole and producing some of the most energetic explosions in the universe. Core-collapse supernovae and long-duration gamma-ray bursts are the violent…
White dwarf stars are the most common end point of stellar evolution. Of special interest are the ultramassive white dwarfs, as they are related to type Ia Supernovae explosions, merger events, and Fast Radio Bursts. Ultramassive white…
When massive stars exhaust their fuel they collapse and often produce the extraordinarily bright explosions known as core-collapse supernovae. On occasion, this stellar collapse also powers an even more brilliant relativistic explosion…
Type Ia supernovae are the outcome of the explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf in a close binary system. They are thought to be the main contributors to the galactic nucleosynthesis of iron-peak elements, with important contributions to…
An important and perhaps critical clue to the mechanism driving the explosion of massive stars as supernovae is provided by the accumulating evidence for asymmetry in the explosion. Indirect evidence comes from high pulsar velocities,…