Quark-nova
Sign in to saveA quark-nova is the hypothetical violent explosion resulting from the conversion of a neutron star to a quark star. Analogous to a supernova heralding the birth of a neutron star, a quark nova signals the creation of a quark star. The term quark-novae was coined in 2002 by Rachid Ouyed (currently at the University of Calgary, Canada) and Drs. J. Dey and M. Dey (Calcutta University, India).
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6 sectionsContents
- The nova process
- Candidates
- Observations
- See also
- References
- External links
A quark-nova is the hypothetical violent explosion resulting from the conversion of a neutron star to a quark star. Analogous to a supernova heralding the birth of a neutron star, a quark nova signals the creation of a quark star. The term quark-novae was coined in 2002 by Rachid Ouyed (currently at the University of Calgary, Canada) and Drs. J. Dey and M. Dey (Calcutta University, India).
== The nova process == When a neutron star spins down, it may convert to a quark star through a process known as quark deconfinement. The resultant star would have quark matter in its interior. The process would release immense amounts of energy, perhaps explaining the most energetic explosions in the universe; calculations have estimated that as much as 1046 J could be released from the phase transition inside a neutron star. Quark-novae may be one cause of gamma ray bursts. According to Jaikumar and collaborators, they may also be involved in producing heavy elements such as platinum through r-process nucleosynthesis.