This study uses detailed three-dimensional computer simulations to examine how massive stars collapse, explode as supernovae, or form black holes, and what signals they produce that could be observed on Earth.

The researchers modeled the collapse of a very massive star (40 times the mass of the Sun) with three different rotation speeds: no rotation, slow rotation, and fast rotation. They found that rotation strongly affects the outcome.

The non-rotating star (top row) failed to explode and collapsed into a black hole about 0.8 seconds after the core rebounded. The slowly rotating star (middle row) did explode, but later material fell back onto the compact core, eventually forming a black hole nearly 1 second after rebound. In contrast, the fast-rotating star (bottom row) exploded early and strongly, and no black hole formed during the simulated time. Rotation also influenced how angular momentum moved inside the star and how fast the remaining core spun.

The simulations predicted distinct gravitational wave signals, including very high-frequency waves at the moment a black hole forms and stronger signals when rotation is rapid. These signals could be detected by current gravitational-wave observatories if such a supernova occurred in our galaxy, helping scientists probe the physics of stellar collapse and black hole formation.

Source: Stellar Mass Black Hole Formation and Multi-messenger Signals from Three Dimensional Rotating Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations