hydrodynamical calculations tagged posts

Artist impression of a magnetar boosting a super-luminous supernova and gamma-ray burst. Credit: Kavli IPMU

Calculations by scientists have found highly magnetized, rapidly spinning neutron stars called magnetars could explain the energy source behind 2 extremely unusual stellar explosions. Stellar explosions known as supernovae usually shine a billion times brighter than the Sun. Super-luminous supernovae (SLSNe) are a relatively new and rare class of stellar explosions, 10 – 100 times brighter than normal supernovae. But the energy source of their super-luminosity, and explosion mechanisms are a mystery and remain controversial amongst scientists.

A group of researchers tested a model that suggests that the energy to power the luminosity of two recently discovered SLSNe, SN 2011kl and AS...