The Most Luminous Supernova ASASSN-15lh: Signature of a Newborn Rapidly Rotating Strange Quark Star
Abstract
In this paper we show that the most luminous supernova discovered very recently, ASASSN-15lh, could have been powered by a newborn ultra-strongly magnetized pulsar, which initially rotates near the Kepler limit. We find that if this pulsar is a neutron star, its rotational energy could be quickly lost as a result of gravitational-radiation-driven r-mode instability; if it is a strange quark star (SQS), however, this instability is highly suppressed due to a large bulk viscosity associated with the nonleptonic weak interaction among quarks and thus most of its rotational energy could be extracted to drive ASASSN-15lh. Therefore, we conclude that such an ultra-energetic supernova provides a possible signature for the birth of an SQS.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- February 2016
- DOI:
- 10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/132
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1508.07745
- Bibcode:
- 2016ApJ...817..132D
- Keywords:
-
- dense matter;
- stars: neutron;
- stars: rotation;
- supernovae: general;
- supernovae: individual: ASASSN-15lh;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 6 pages, title changed, one figure added, conclusions unchanged, accepted for publication in ApJ