Pair-instability supernova

When a star is very massive, the gamma rays produced in its core can become so energetic that some of their energy is drained away into production of particle and antiparticle pairs. The resulting drop in radiation pressure causes the star to partially collapse under its own huge gravity. After this violent collapse, runaway thermonuclear reactions (not shown here) ensue and the star explodes.

A pair-instability supernova is a type of supernova predicted to occur when pair production, the production of free electrons and positrons in the collision between atomic nuclei and energetic gamma rays, temporarily reduces the internal radiation pressure supporting a supermassive star's core against gravitational collapse.[1] This pressure drop leads to a partial collapse, which in turn causes greatly accelerated burning in a runaway thermonuclear explosion, resulting in the star being blown completely apart without leaving a stellar remnant behind.[2]

Pair-instability supernovae can only happen in stars with a mass range from around 130 to 250 solar masses and low to moderate metallicity (low abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium – a situation common in Population III stars).

  1. ^ Rakavy, G.; Shaviv, G. (June 1967). "Instabilities in Highly Evolved Stellar Models". The Astrophysical Journal. 148: 803. Bibcode:1967ApJ...148..803R. doi:10.1086/149204.
  2. ^ Fraley, Gary S. (1968). "Supernovae Explosions Induced by Pair-Production Instability" (PDF). Astrophysics and Space Science. 2 (1): 96–114. Bibcode:1968Ap&SS...2...96F. doi:10.1007/BF00651498. S2CID 122104256.