Core-collapse supernova

A stellar explosion triggered when the iron-rich core of a massive star collapses under gravity. The collapse forms a neutron star or black hole and ejects the star’s outer layers.

Iron core: The dense central region of a massive star, composed mainly of iron-group nuclei near the end of its life. Its inability to release energy by fusion drives the final collapse.
Massive star: A star born with enough mass to burn through successive fuels and end its life in core collapse. Only stars above a threshold initial mass generally reach the advanced burning stages that lead to this event.
SN 1987A: A supernova that exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud in 1987, providing the first detected neutrinos from a supernova. Its neutrinos and evolving remnant provide an unusually direct record of core collapse.
Supernova remnant: An expanding structure of shocked gas and stellar debris left after a supernova explosion. It records the explosion’s interaction with surrounding material over thousands of years.
Failed supernova: A stellar core collapse that produces little or no bright supernova explosion, often leaving a black hole. It highlights that collapse does not always eject the star’s outer layers successfully.
Electron capture: A nuclear process in which an atomic nucleus absorbs an electron and emits a neutrino. It removes pressure-supporting electrons from the collapsing core.
Stellar nucleosynthesis: The formation of atomic nuclei through nuclear reactions in stars and stellar explosions. Successive fusion stages build the iron-group core that precedes collapse.
Type II supernova: A supernova whose optical spectrum shows hydrogen lines, usually from a star that retained a hydrogen-rich envelope. Many core-collapse explosions appear as Type II events because their progenitors keep hydrogen.
Compact object: A dense stellar remnant such as a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole. Core collapse leaves a neutron star or, in some cases, a black hole.
Standing accretion shock instability: A global oscillation of the stalled shock surrounding a newly formed compact object during core collapse. Its role in aiding shock revival remains part of the multidimensional explosion problem.

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