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.

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• Populating the upper black hole mass gap through stellar collisions in young star clusters
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• The Extremely Luminous Supernova 2006gy at Late Phase: Detection of Optical Emission from Supernova
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• 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
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