What Lies Beneath The Outer Layers Of A Star?
Summary
Researchers caught a rare glimpse inside an exploding star (supernova 2021yfj) that had its outer layers stripped away, exposing its silicon- and sulfur-rich inner shell, confirming some stellar models. However, the unexpected presence of helium at this stage has puzzled astrophysicists, suggesting a need to refine our understanding of how massive stars die through complex processes like "pair instability." This discovery opens the door for a "gold rush" to find new classes of supernovae.Episode description
You might think of a star as a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is turned into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees. But researchers recently reported that they’d observed some of what lies beneath all that hydrogen and helium, at least inside one unusual supernova. The star, named supernova 2021yfj, had its outer layers stripped away, leaving behind a silicon- and sulfur-rich inner shell.
Astrophysicist Steve Schulze joins Host Flora Lichtman to describe what the team spotted in the heart of a dying star.
Guest: Dr. Steve Schulze is a research associate at Northwestern University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics.
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