Disappearance of a massive star in the Andromeda Galaxy due to formation of a black hole.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41678628.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.adt4853.
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Abstract
When a massive star reaches the end of its lifetime, its core collapses and releases neutrinos that drive a shock into the outer layers (the stellar envelope). A sufficiently strong shock ejects the envelope, producing a supernova. If the shock fails to eject it, the envelope is predicted to fall back onto the collapsing core, producing a stellar-mass black hole (BH) and causing the star to disappear. We report observations of M31-2014-DS1, a hydrogen-depleted supergiant in the Andromeda Galaxy. In 2014, it brightened in the mid-infrared, then from 2017 to 2022, it faded by factors of [Formula: see text] in optical light (becoming undetectable) and [Formula: see text] in total light. We interpret these observations, and those of a previous event in NGC 6946, as evidence for failed supernovae forming stellar-mass BHs.