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arXiv · 1508.07745

The Most Luminous Supernova ASASSN-15lh: Signature of a Newborn Rapidly-Rotating Strange Quark Star

Z. G. Dai·S. Q. Wang·J. S. Wang·L. J. Wang·Y. W. Yu
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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, 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 a strange quark star.

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Z. G. Dai, S. Q. Wang, J. S. Wang, L. J. Wang, Y. W. Yu. 2015-12-23. The Most Luminous Supernova ASASSN-15lh: Signature of a Newborn Rapidly-Rotating Strange Quark Star. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637x%2F817%2F2%2F132

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