What powers hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae? · revision history

Revision 2

Accepted · core change · record

Changes against revision 1:

Title
What powers hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae?
Plain
A rare kind of supernova shines 10 to 100 times brighter than usual, more than its radioactive nickel can supply, perhaps powered by a newborn spinning magnetar or by crashing into gas shed earlier.
Precise · changed · core
Revision 1: Type I superluminous supernovae peak at $L \sim 1e44\,\mathrm{erg}/\mathrm{s}$ and radiate $\sim 1e51\,\mathrm{erg}$. Decide among spin-down of a millisecond magnetar $(P \sim 1\ \text{to}\ 5\,\mathrm{ms}, B \sim 1e14\,\mathrm{G})$, interaction with hydrogen-poor circumstellar shells, and pair-instability explosions, using late-time light-curve slopes, light-curve bumps, nebular spectra and late radio or X-ray emission from a central nebula. Answer: the power source for each subclass with the evidence.
Revision 2: Type I superluminous supernovae peak at $L \sim 10^{44}\,\mathrm{erg}/\mathrm{s}$ and radiate $\sim 10^{51}\,\mathrm{erg}$. Decide among spin-down of a millisecond magnetar $(P \sim 1\ \text{to}\ 5\,\mathrm{ms}, B \sim 10^{14}\,\mathrm{G})$, interaction with hydrogen-poor circumstellar shells, and pair-instability explosions, using late-time light-curve slopes, light-curve bumps, nebular spectra and late radio or X-ray emission from a central nebula. Answer: the power source for each subclass with the evidence.
Settled by
Detection or exclusion of late-time radio and X-ray emission from an embedded magnetar nebula in nearby events, together with nebular spectra that fix the ejecta mass.
Kind
phenomenon
Answer type
identification
References
(empty)
Literature status
contested
Status note
(empty)
Posed since
2011

Decisions