Some Massive Stars are Quietly Disappearing Without Supernova Explosions, Study Finds

Upon reaching the end of their lifespan, massive stars usually explode in a spectacular supernova event. However, a recent discovery by an international team led by astronomer Alejandro Vigna-Gómez suggests that some massive stars are quietly disappearing without the expected explosive finale. The team's study, published in Physical Review Letters, focused on the binary system VFTS 243 in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

This system consists of a massive star and a black hole companion, where the black hole's formation should have been preceded by a supernova explosion. Surprisingly, no explosion was observed in this case. Vigna-Gómez explained that the collapse of these stars is so complete that no explosion occurs, leading to the sudden disappearance of the star without a bright supernova event.

The team's findings offer a closer look at this phenomenon and provide a potential explanation for the observed vanishing stars in the night sky. Typically, when a star more massive than 8 times the Sun's mass goes supernova, the resulting outcome is chaotic. Depending on the star's mass, the core collapse can lead to the formation of a black hole, neutron star, or other dense objects.

The VFTS 243 system is particularly intriguing due to its composition of a massive star and a black hole, with the latter estimated based on the orbital velocity of its companion star. This system presents compelling evidence that some massive stars may directly collapse into black holes without the expected supernova explosion. Astrophysicist Irene Tamborra emphasized the significance of the VFTS 243 system in confirming the theory of stellar black holes forming through total collapse, without the traditional supernova explosion.

This discovery adds to our understanding of the diverse pathways that massive stars can take towards their ultimate fate.