Indian researchers discover rare super-bright supernova use borrowed energy to glow

Researchers have discovered an extremely bright, hydrogen-deficient, fast-evolving supernova that uses energy borrowed from a strange neutron star with a super-strong magnetic field to emit light, and notified the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology on Saturday.

This type of supernova, called a superluminescent supernova (SLSN), is very rare. The ministry said that in-depth research on this ancient space object will help to explore the mysteries of the early universe.

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SLSNe are very rare because they usually originate from very large stars (the minimum mass limit is more than 25 times that of the sun), and the number of such massive stars in our Milky Way or nearby galaxies is very rare.

The team used the Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT-3.6m) recently commissioned by the country and the special arrangement of two other Indian telescopes: Sampurnanand Telescope-1.04m and Himalayan Chandra Telescope-2.0m to observe it. The ministry stated that they found that the outer layer of the onion-structured supernova has been peeled off, and its core is shining with borrowed energy.

The research, led by PhD student Amit Kumar, led by Dr. SB Pandey, was published in the Monthly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. It is 3.6 to 7.2 times the mass of the sun.

The study also established the role of 3.6. DOT will explore the very far SLSNe in the future. In-depth study of this phenomenon can explore the underlying physical mechanism, possible precursors, and the environment in which this rare explosion occurs, as well as their possible association with other high-energy explosions such as gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and rapid radio bursts (FRB).

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So far, SLNSe-I has been counted to approximately 150 entities, confirmed by spectroscopy. The ministry’s statement states that these ancient celestial bodies are among the least-known supernovas because their potential sources are not yet known, and the use of traditional supernova power models involving the decay of Ni56-Co56-Fe56 cannot explain their extremely high peaks. Luminosity.

The Ministry further stated that SN 2020ank was first discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on January 19 last year and was researched by scientists from the Aryabhatta Institute for Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital, an autonomous research institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology. (DST) starts in February 2020, and then passes through the lock-in phases in March and April.

The appearance of SN is very similar to other objects on the scene. However, the ministry added that the brightness estimate shows that it is a very blue object, reflecting its brighter characteristics.