Hypernova

A superluminous supernova (SLSN, plural superluminous supernovae or SLSNe) is a type of stellar explosion with an luminosity substantially higher than that of standard supernovae. It is often popularly referred to as a hypernova (plural hypernovae), which is a highly energetic (kinetic energy ~ 10^52 erg) core-collapse supernova.

Like the more common supernovae of typical energy, SLSNe seem to be produced by several different mechanisms, which is readily revealed by their light-curves and spectra. There are multiple models for what conditions may produce an SLSN, including core collapse in particularly massive stars, millisecond magnetars, interaction with circumstellar material (CSM model), or pair-instability supernovae. Some SLSN events may be the source of long-duration gamma-ray bursts.

Before the late-1990s, the term "hypernova" was used sporadically to describe the theoretical extremely energetic explosions of extremely massive population III stars. It has also been used to describe other extreme energy events, such as mergers of supermassive black holes. They were also referred to as luminous supernovae and occasionally super-luminous or ultra-luminous supernovae.

In 1998, a paper suggesting a link between gamma-ray bursts and young massive stars formally proposed to use the term "hypernova" for the visible after-glow from those gamma-ray bursts. The energy of such events was speculated to be up to several hundred times that of known supernovae.

Almost simultaneously, various over-luminous supernovae were being discovered and investigated. These events were described as hypernovae and varied from less than five to around 50 times as energetic as other supernovae and up to 20 times as luminous as a standard type Ia supernova at its peak. This definition has become standard for the term "hypernova", although not all of them are associated with gamma-ray bursts. The word hypernova itself was coined by S.E. Woosley.

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