Related papers: Could a nearby supernova explosion have caused a m…
In a failed supernova, partial ejection of the progenitor's outer envelope can occur due to weakening of the core's gravity by neutrino emission in the protoneutron star phase. We consider emission when this ejecta sweeps up the…
We have used the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Millimeter Array to obtain a map of the J = (1-0) CO emission from the circumstellar shell around HD 179821, a highly evolved G-type star which will probably explode as a supernova in the next…
Various lines of evidence suggest that very massive stars experience extreme mass-loss episodes shortly before they explode as a supernova. Interestingly, several models predict such pre-explosion outbursts. Establishing a causal connection…
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…
Recent data indicate one or more moderately nearby supernovae in the early Pleistocene, with additional events likely in the Miocene. This has motivated more detailed computations, using new information about the nature of supernovae and…
We discuss some the effects of local gamma-ray bursts on the earth's atmosphere. A rough calculation of the fraction of ozone destruction by catalytic $NO_{x}$ cycles is given, which in turn serves to argue how the large flux of gammas from…
The result of a search for neutrino bursts from supernova explosions using the Super-Kamiokande detector is reported. Super-Kamiokande is sensitive to core-collapse supernova explosions via observation of their neutrino emissions. The…
There is increasing evidence that low mass stars with circumstellar disks can be born close to massive stars, in some cases within tenths of a pc. If the disks have lifetimes greater than those of the more massive stars, they are exposed to…
Near-Earth supernova blasts which engulf the solar system have left traces of their ejecta in the geological and lunar records. There is now a wealth of data on live radioactive ${}^{60}$Fe pointing to a supernova at 3 Myr ago, as well as…
We estimate the likelihood of direct injection of supernova ejecta into protoplanetary disks using a model in which the number of stars with disks decreases linearly with time, and clusters expand linearly with time such that their surface…
The escape of accelerated particles from supernova remnants remains one of the central and yet least understood aspects of the origin of cosmic rays. Here we use the results of the recent LHAASO observation of gamma rays from a region of…
Firestone (2014) asserted evidence for numerous (23) nearby (d<300 pc) supernovae within the Middle and Late Pleistocene. If true, this would have strong implications for the irradiation of the Earth; at this rate, mass extinction level…
It is likely that one or more gamma-ray bursts within our galaxy have strongly irradiated the Earth in the last Gy. This produces significant atmospheric ionization and dissociation, resulting in ozone depletion and DNA-damaging ultraviolet…
The Milagro experiment has announced the discovery of an excess flux of TeV cosmic rays from the general direction of the heliotail, also close to the Galactic anticenter. We investigate the hypothesis that the excess cosmic rays were…
A variety of supernova events, including Type IIn supernovae and ultraluminous supernovae, appear to have lost up to solar masses of their envelopes in 10's to 100's of years leading up to the explosion. In order to explain the close timing…
We show that when a supernova explodes, a nearby pulsar signal goes through a very specific change. The observed period first changes smoothly, then is followed by a sudden change in the time derivative. A stable millisecond pulsar can…
When a star undergoes core collapse, a vast amount of energy is released in a ~10 s long burst of neutrinos of all species. Inverse beta decay in the star's hydrogen envelope causes an electromagnetic cascade which ultimately results in a…
Brief (less than 100 years) rapid-increase anomalies in the Earth's atmospheric radiocarbon production have previously been attributed to either gamma photon radiation from supernovae or to cosmic ray particle radiation from exceptionally…
Binary star systems containing a neutron star or a black hole with an evolved, massive star are dynamically perturbed when the latter undergoes a supernova explosion. It is possible that the natal kick received by the newly-formed neutron…
Comet disintegration proceeds both through sublimation and discrete splitting events. The cross-sectional area of material ejected by a comet may, within days, become many times greater than that of the Earth, making encounters with such…