Related papers: Pair-Production Supernovae: Theory and Observation
Nonrotating, zero metallicity stars with initial masses 140 < M < 260 solar masses are expected to end their lives as pair-production supernovae (PPSNe), in which an electron-positron pair-production instability triggers explosive nuclear…
For the initial mass range (140 < M < 260 Msun) stars die in a thermonuclear runaway triggered by the pair-production instability. The supernovae they make can be remarkably energetic (up to ~10^53 ergs) and synthesize considerable amounts…
Stars with helium cores between ~64 and 133 M_sun are theoretically predicted to die as pair-instability supernovae. This requires very massive progenitors, which are theoretically prohibited for Pop II/I stars within the Galactic stellar…
So called superluminous supernovae have been recently discovered in the local Universe. It appears possible that some of them originate from stellar explosions induced by the pair instability mechanism. Recent stellar evolution models also…
The final evolution of stars in the mass range 70 - 140 solar masses is explored. Depending upon their mass loss history and rotation rates, these stars will end their lives as pulsational pair-instability supernovae producing a great…
The discovery of 150 - 300 M$_{\odot}$ stars in the Local Group and pair-instability supernova candidates at low redshifts has excited interest in this exotic explosion mechanism. Realistic light curves for pair-instability supernovae at…
Very massive stars are radiation pressure dominated. Before running out of viable nuclear fuel, they can reach a thermodynamic state where electron-positron pair-production robs them of radiation support, triggering their collapse.…
Pristine stars with masses between ~140 and 260 M_sun are theoretically predicted to die as pair-instability supernovae. These very massive progenitors could come from Pop III stars in the early universe. We model the light curves and…
Super-luminous supernovae that radiate more than 10^44 ergs per second at their peak luminosity have recently been discovered in faint galaxies at redshifts of 0.1-4. Some evolve slowly, resembling models of 'pair-instability' supernovae.…
Abridged - Stars with ZAMS masses between 140 and $260 M_\odot$ are thought to explode as pair-instability supernovae (PISNe). During their thermonuclear runaway, PISNe can produce up to several tens of solar masses of radioactive nickel,…
Stars with initial masses 10 M_{solar} < M_{initial} < 100 M_{solar} fuse progressively heavier elements in their centres, up to inert iron. The core then gravitationally collapses to a neutron star or a black hole, leading to an explosion…
It has been theoretically predicted many decades ago that extremely massive stars that develop large oxygen cores will become dynamically unstable, due to electron-positron pair production. The collapse of such oxygen cores leads to…
A Pulsational Pair-instability supernova (PPISN) evolves from a massive star with a mass $\sim 80$ -- 140 $M_{\odot}$ which develops the electron-positron pair-instability after the hydrostatic He-burning in the core has finished. In [Leung…
If very massive stars (M >~ 100 Msun) can form and avoid too strong mass loss during their evolution, they are predicted to explode as pair-instability supernovae (PISNe). One critical test for candidate events is whether their…
We study the detectability of primordial metal-free stars. Cosmological enrichment is a local process that takes place over an extended redshift range. While the duration of this transition depends on several unknown factors, in all cases…
Pair creation supernovae (PCSN) are thought to be produced from very massive low metallicity stars. The spectacularly bright SN 2006gy does show signatures expected from PCSNe. Here, we investigate the metallicity threshold below which PCSN…
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.…
Growing theoretical evidence suggests that the first generation of stars may have been quite massive (~100-300 solar masses). If they retain their high mass until death, such stars will, after about 3Myr, make pair-instability supernovae.…
Pair-instability and pulsational pair-instability supernovae (PPISN) have not been unambiguously observed so far. They are, however, promising candidates for the progenitors of the heaviest binary black hole (BBH) mergers detected. If these…
Theoretical models predict that some of the first stars ended their lives as extremely energetic pair-instability supernovae (PISNe). With energies approaching 10^53 ergs, these supernovae are expected to be within the detection limits of…