Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
We discuss the properties of the very energetic Type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic) 1998bw and 1997ef, and of Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) 1997cy. SNe Ic 1998bw and 1997ef are characterized by their large luminosity and very broad spectral features. Their observed properties can be explained if they are very energetic SN explosions (EK ≳ 1 × 1052 erg), originating probably from the core collapse of the bare C+O cores of massive stars (~ 30–40M⊙). At late times, both the light curve and the spectra suggest that the explosion may have been asymmetric; this may help us understand the claimed connection with GRBs. Type IIn SN 1997cy is even more luminous than SN 998bw, and the light curve declines more slowly than the 56Co decay. We model such a light curve with circumstellar interaction, which requires the explosion energy of ~ 5 × 1052 erg. Because these kinetic energies of explosion are much larger than in normal core-collapse SNe, we call objects like these SNe “hypernovae”.