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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
With the recent Supernova 1987a in the LMC, new and interesting possibilities have arisen for the solution of a problem relating to the explosion mechanism of supernovae. The presupernova was probably a B3Ia, the blue supergiant, and not a red giant as it was earlier thought likely. Calculations of the evolution, which have been made recently, show that the loss of hydrodynamical stability may be connected with carbon burning in the stellar core during the blue giant stage. This loss of stability of the CO core is the main factor in our explanation of the recent event of SN 1987a.
Before we consider the thermonuclear model of a supernova based on a thermal flash in the degenerate CO core, let us dwell on the present situation in the theory of supernovae. The main problem in supernova theory is the simultaneity of births of a compact remnant and an expelled envelope. The compact remnant later becomes a neutron star. The expelled envelope determines the curve of brightness. Now, it is clear that a supernova explosion may result in either the total disruption of a star or in the simultaneous production of a compact remnant and an expelled envelope.