Abstract
Can a white dwarf, filled with carbon and oxygen, be more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.382 solar masses? In theory – and this is a very reliable theory – no. At this limit, or indeed somewhat less than this limit, the conditions in the core should turn carbon into iron and other elements, with disastrous consequences. However, in 2003 the Supernova Legacy Survey discovered an unusual Type Ia supernova called SNLS-03D3bb that appeared to break this rule, and not just in a subtle way. SN 2003fg, as it was subsequently renamed, had a peak absolute magnitude of −20.09, requiring a mass of radioactive nickel-56 almost as huge as the theoretical limit for the entire white dwarf. This appeared to be heretical. How could astronomers square this round peg?
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Stevenson, D.S. (2014). Are there Super-Chandrasekhar Supernovae?. In: Extreme Explosions. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8136-2_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8136-2_12
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