Related papers: Superluminous supernovae: an explosive decade
Supernova explosions are among the most energetic phenomena in the known universe. There are suggestions that cosmic rays up to EeV energies might be accelerated in the young supernova shell on time scales of a few weeks to years, which…
It is difficult to establish the properties of massive stars that explode as supernovae. The electromagnetic emission during the first minutes to hours after the emergence of the shock from the stellar surface conveys important information…
Despite their paucity, massive hot stars are real cosmic engines of fundamental importance in shaping our Universe, from its very early stages up to its current appearance. Understanding the physics of massive stars is then a key issue for…
Novae are the observable outcome of a transient thermonuclear runaway on the surface of an accreting white dwarf in a close binary system. Their high peak luminosity renders them visible in galaxies out beyond the distance of the Virgo…
Underluminous Thermonuclear Supernovae (uTSNe) are an emerging class of transient events that resemble classic Supernovae Type Ia, but peak at much lower luminosities. Suspected to be the deflagrations of white dwarfs, they directly link…
Observational identification of the first stars is one of the great challenges in the modern astronomy. Although a single first star is too faint to be detected, supernova explosions of the first stars can be bright enough. An important…
Superbursts were discovered at the beginning of this millennium. Just like type-I X-ray bursts, they are thought to be due to thermonuclear shell flashes on neutron stars, only igniting much deeper. With respect to type-I bursts, they last…
The discovery of a population of superluminous supernovae (SLSNe), with peak luminosities a factor of ~100 brighter than normal SNe (typically SLSNe have M_V <-21), has shown an unexpected diversity in core-collapse supernova properties.…
Modern astrophysics is undergoing a revolution. As detector technology has advanced, and astronomers have been able to study the sky with finer temporal detail, a rich diversity of sources which vary on timescales from years down to a few…
Under the hypothesis that some fraction of massive stellar core collapses give rise to unusually energetic events, termed hypernovae, I examine the required rates assuming some fraction of such events yield gamma ray bursts. I then discuss…
Objects of known brightness, like Type Ia supernovae (SNIa), can be used to measure distances. If a massive object warps spacetime to form multiple images of a background SNIa, a direct test of cosmic expansion is also possible. However,…
Supernovae are Nature's high-energy, high density laboratory experiments, reaching densities in excess of nuclear densities and temperatures above 10MeV. Astronomers have built up a suite of diagnostics to study these supernovae. If we can…
Classical nova explosions and type I X-ray bursts are the most frequent types of thermonuclear stellar explosions in the Galaxy. Both phenomena arise from thermonuclear ignition in the envelopes of accreting compact objects in close binary…
Superluminous supernovae are among the most energetic stellar explosions in the Universe, but their energy sources remain an open question. Here we present long-term observations of one of the closest examples of the hydrogen-poor subclass…
Using the latest generation of adaptive optics imaging systems together with laser guide stars on 8m-class telescopes, we are finally revealing the previously-hidden population of supernovae in starburst galaxies. Finding these supernovae…
Observations of a long-lasting Gamma-ray burst, one that has the brightest optical counterpart yet discovered, challenge theoretical understanding of these bursts but may enhance their usefulness as cosmic probes.
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…
Some extragalactic SNRs are more than two orders of magnitude more luminous than the young Galactic SNR Cas A. These SNRs are called super-luminous or ultra-luminous SNRs. Their high luminosities can be caused by chance superpositions of…
In the new millennium hypernuclear physics is undergoing a renewed interest, both theoretically and experimentally.
In certain media, light has been observed with group velocities faster than the speed of light. The recent OPERA report of superluminal 17 GeV neutrinos may describe a similar phenomenon.