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

Abstract

Supernova 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.

References in corpus (3)

• SN 2006gy: An extremely luminous supernova in the galaxy NGC 1260
• On the evolution and fate of supermassive stars
• Evolution of Collisionally Merged Massive Stars

Cited by in corpus (13)

• The evolution of runaway stellar collision products
• A multiphysics and multiscale software environment for modeling astrophysical systems
• Light Curve Modeling of Superluminous Supernova 2006gy: Collision between Supernova Ejecta and Dense Circumstellar Medium
• Luminous Blue Variables and superluminous supernovae from binary mergers
• Metal-Free Gas Supply at the Edge of Reionization: Late-Epoch Population III Star Formation
• A population of highly energetic transient events in the centres of active galaxies
• Monte Carlo simulation of particle interactions at high dynamic range: Advancing beyond the Googol
• A Dip after the Early Emission of Super-Luminous Supernovae: A Signature of Shock Breakout within Dense Circumstellar Media
• Massive Stellar Mergers as Precursors of Hydrogen-rich Pulsational Pair Instability Supernovae
• Cosmic backgrounds due to the formation of the first generation of supermassive black holes
• A supersymmetric model for triggering Supernova Ia in isolated white dwarfs
• Local starburst conditions and formation of GRB 980425 / SN 1998bw within a collisional ring
• Chemical Yields from Supernovae and Hypernovae