A runaway collision in a young star cluster as the origin of the brightest supernova

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dc.creatorZwart, Simon Portegies
dc.creatorHeuvel, Edward P. J. van den
dc.date2007-11-14
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T11:38:44Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T11:38:44Z
dc.descriptionSupernova 2006gy in the galaxy NGC 1260 is the most luminous one recorded \cite{2006CBET..644....1Q, 2006CBET..647....1H, 2006CBET..648....1P, 2006CBET..695....1F}. Its progenitor might have been a very massive ($>100$ \msun) star \cite{2006astro.ph.12617S}, but that is incompatible with hydrogen in the spectrum of the supernova, because stars $>40$ \msun are believed to have shed their hydrogen envelopes several hundred thousand years before the explosion \cite{2005A&A...429..581M}. Alternatively, the progenitor might have arisen from the merger of two massive stars \cite{2007ApJ...659L..13O}. Here we show that the collision frequency of massive stars in a dense and young cluster (of the kind to be expected near the center of a galaxy) is sufficient to provide a reasonable chance that SN 2006gy resulted from such a bombardment. If this is the correct explanation, then we predict that when the supernova fades (in a year or so) a dense cluster of massive stars becomes visible at the site of the explosion.
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0711.2293
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0711.2293
dc.identifierNature450:388-389,2007
dc.identifierdoi:10.1038/nature06276
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/199673
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleA runaway collision in a young star cluster as the origin of the brightest supernova
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