Related papers: A Susy Phase Transition as Central Engine
Core-collapse supernovae are among the most fascinating phenomena in astrophysics and provide a formidable challenge for theoretical investigation. They mark the spectacular end of the lives of massive stars and, in an explosive eruption,…
Astrophysical transients can be powered by a broad range of energy sources including shock-heating (internal and external shocks), decay of radioactive isotopes, and long-lived central engines (magnetar and fallback). The dominant energy…
Core-collapse supernova explosions are driven by a central engine that converts a small fraction of the gravitational binding energy released during core collapse to outgoing kinetic energy. The suspected mode for this energy conversion is…
Recent work has revealed that the light curves of hydrogen-poor (Type I) superluminous supernovae (SLSNe), thought to be powered by magnetar central engines, do not always follow the smooth decline predicted by a simple magnetar spin-down…
The observed association between supernovae and gamma-ray bursts represents a cornerstone in our understanding of the nature of gamma-ray bursts. The collapsar model provides a theoretical framework for this connection. A key element is the…
Engine-driven explosions with continuous energy input from the central system have been suggested for supernovae (SNe) associated with a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB), super-luminous SNe (SLSNe), and at least a fraction of broad-lined SNe Ic (SNe…
Study of the polarization of supernovae has suggested that the core collapse process may be intrinsically strongly asymmetric. There is a tentative trend for supernova with smaller envelopes showing more polarization, with Type Ic having…
Cosmological explosions such as core-collapse supernovae (SNe) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are thought to be powered by the rapid conversion of roughly a solar mass' worth of gravitational binding energy into a comparatively small amount of…
We present the results of three-dimensional special relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of supernova ejecta with a powerful central energy source. We assume spherical supernova ejecta freely expanding with the initial kinetic energy of…
There are hints that nearby Type Ia supernovae may be a little different than those at large redshift. Confidence in the conclusion that there is a cosmological constant and an accelerating Universe thus still requires the hard work of…
Multi-dimensional simulations of the neutrino-driven mechanism behind core-collapse supernovae have long shown that the explosions from this mechanism would be asymmetric. Recently, detailed core-collapse simulations have shown that the…
The energy source powering the extreme optical luminosity of hydrogen-stripped Superluminous Supernovae (SLSNe-I) is not known, but recent studies have highlighted the case for a central engine. Radio and/or X-ray observations are best…
Long-duration, spectrally-soft Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are associated with Type Ic Core Collapse (CC) Supernovae (SNe), and thus arise from the death of massive stars. In the collapsar model, the jet launched by the central engine must bore…
Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are massive star explosions too luminous to be powered by traditional energy sources, such as radioactive 56Ni. These transients may instead be powered by a central engine, such as a millisecond pulsar or…
One of a family previously proposed ``central engines'' for cosmic gamma-ray burst sources (Klu\'zniak & Ruderman 1998) is considered in some detail. A steadily accreting $10^6$ Gauss magnetic white dwarf should ultimately collapse to a…
Significant undulations appear in the light curve of a recently discovered super-luminous supernova (SLSN) SN 2015bn after the first peak, while the underlying profile of the light curve can be well explained by a continuous energy supply…
Unusually high velocities (< ~0.1c) and correspondingly high kinetic energies have been observed in a subset of Type Ic supernovae (so-called "broad-lined Ic" supernovae; SNe Ic-BL), prompting a search for a central engine model capable of…
A macronova (kilonova) was discovered with a short gamma-ray burst, GRB 130603B, which is widely believed to be powered by the radioactivity of $r$-process elements synthesized in the ejecta of a neutron star binary merger. As an…
We investigate broad-band emission from supernova ejecta powered by a relativistic wind from a central compact object. A recent two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation studying the dynamical evolution of supernova ejecta with a central…
Supernovae (SNe) that show evidence of strong shock interaction between their ejecta and pre-existing, slower circumstellar material (CSM) constitute an interesting, diverse, and still poorly understood category of explosive transients. The…