Extreme Explosions: Supernovae, Hypernovae, Magnetars, and Other Unusual Cosmic Blasts (Astronomers' Universe)

pt. II. A walk across the rooftops. 3. Stellar evolution at the summit of the main sequence : Looking deeper into the controversy ; A problem with wolves ; The Humphrey-Davidson limit ; Luminous and violent blue variables ; Evolutionary paths of the most massive stars ; Type IIn supernovae ; Explaining type IIn properties ; Catching the wave ; From imposter to supernova ; Direct detonation of LBVs ; Slow blow: the case of supernova SN 2008iy ; The impact of collisions (no pun intended!) -- 4. Collapsars, hypernovae and long gamma ray bursts : From star wars to star death ; Beppo-SAX to the rescue ; Of fireballs and jets ; A best fit: the collapsar model ; Hypernovae and hyperbolae ; Reconstructing the supernova-GRB connection ; Supernova: or supranova? ; XRFs and type Ibc supernovae ; SN 2010jp: the first jet-powered type II supernova -- 5. Death by fallback : The mystery of Cygnus X-1 ; Controversial supernovae ; Populations -- 6. The formation of massive stars by collision and their fate : A lack of interpersonal skills: harassment -- 7. Electron-capture supernovae : Supernova or imposter? ; The troubling fates of intermediate mass stars ; Limiting factors ; Post main sequence evolution ; The Cassino da Urca ; Many roads lead to Rome ; Did the progenitor of SN 2008S spend too much time at the roulette table? ; SN 2009md: a faint type IIP supernova with a troubling origin ; A coda from the distant past: type I.5 supernovae -- 8. Ultra-luminous Type IIn supernovae : Taking the pulse ; A letal pulse: SN 2006gy and 2006tf as pulsational pair-instability supernovae ; SN 2008es: an ultra-luminous type II-L supernova ; A deadly couple embrace: was SN 2007bi the first pair instability supernova? ; Was pair instability a common cause of death in the early universe? -- 9. The magnetar model for ultra-luminous supernovae : The magnetar model ; SN 2006aj and the x-ray flashes -- 10. The mysterious SN 2005ap and luminous blue flashes : SN 2005ap ; Arrival of the white knights ; The PPI model ; The magnetar model ; The buried GRB model ; Are these blue explosions pair-instability events? ; Pan-STARRS events ; Can we tie up all the loose ends?;pt. IV. In flagrante delicto. 14. The mysterious case of V838 Monocerotis and the red novae : V838 Moncerotis ; V4332 Sagittarii ; A stellar merger caught in the act ; M85's red nova ; The case of the optical transient NGC 300 OT ; Once red, now blue ; What do these collisions tell us about stellar eruptions? ; The great eruption of Eta Carinae: a reprise -- 15. Between Scylla and Charybdis : Type IIa? ; What might the new scheme be based upon?;What happens at the end of the life of massive stars? At one time we thought all these stars followed similar evolutionary paths. However, new discoveries have shown that things are not quite that simple. This book focuses on the extreme the most intense, brilliant and peculiar of astronomical explosions. It features highly significant observational finds that push the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics, particularly as before these objects were only predicted in theory. This book is for those who want the latest information and ideas about the most dramatic and unusual explosions detected by current supernova searches. It examines and explains cataclysmic and unusual events in stellar astrophysics and presents them in a non-mathematical but highly detailed way that non-professionals can understand and enjoy.;pt. III. Thermonuclear supernovae. 11. Hypotheses and an oxymoron : What astronomers know ; What astronomers think they know ; What astronomers don't know ; Mechanisms and scenarios ; The single-degenerate scenario ; More problems ; A precious few ; Double-degenerate models ; The explosion ; SN 2011fe: a defining type Ia supernova -- 12. Are there super-Chandrasekhar supernovae? : Type Ia supernovae: a reprise ; SN 1991T ; SN 2003fg: too bright for its own good? ; Loneliness in a crowd -- 13. The good, the bad and the ugly thermonuclear supernovae : R corona borealis: born again stars ; Mergers of more massive white dwarf stars ; AM CVn systems ; Type .Ia supernovae: descendants of AM CVn binaries? ; Record breaking type .Ia supernova or something else? ; Do some type Ia supernovae explode without detonation? ; SN 2008ha: a cousin of Sn 2005hk? ; PTF 09dav: something else? ; Sn 2005E: Lex Parsimoniae. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Biology of Supernovae....Pages 3-40 The Anatomy of Stellar Life and Death....Pages 41-79 Front Matter....Pages 81-81 Stellar Evolution at the Summit of the Main Sequence....Pages 83-118 Collapsars, Hypernovae and Long Gamma Ray Bursts....Pages 119-152 Death by Fallback....Pages 153-164 The Formation of Massive Stars by Collision and Their Fate....Pages 165-173 Electron-Capture Supernovae....Pages 175-198 Ultra-luminous Type IIn Supernovae....Pages 199-228 The Magnetar Model for Ultra-Luminous Supernovae....Pages 229-237 The Mysterious SN 2005ap and Luminous Blue Flashes....Pages 239-251 Front Matter....Pages 253-253 Hypotheses and an Oxymoron....Pages 255-274 Are there Super-Chandrasekhar Supernovae?....Pages 275-284 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Thermonuclear Supernovae....Pages 285-320 Front Matter....Pages 321-321 The Mysterious Case of V838 Monocerotis and the Red Novae....Pages 323-342 Between Scylla and Charybdis....Pages 343-350 Back Matter....Pages 351-369 The Evolution of Massive Stars The Top of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram Collapsars, Hypernovae, and Long Gamma Ray Bursts Quiet supernovae, and Death by Fall-Back Luminous Blue Variables and Supernova 'Imposters' Death by Magnetar Pulsational Pair Instability and Pair Instability Supernovae Luminous Blue Flashes Population III Stars The Impact of Nuclear Reactions of Massive Stars on the Present Day Universe Red Novae and the Enigma of V838 Monocerotis. This book examines and explains cataclysmic and unusual events at the very frontier of our knowledge of stellar astrophysics, and presents them in a way that non-professionals can understand and enjoy.