Astrophysical explosions: from solar flares to cosmic gamma-ray bursts

Abstract

Astrophysical explosions result from the release of magnetic, gravitational or thermonuclear energy on dynamical time scales, typically the sound-crossing time for the system. These explosions include solar and stellar flares, eruptive phenomena in accretion discs, thermonuclear combustion on the surfaces of white dwarfs and neutron stars, violent magnetic reconnection in neutron stars, thermonuclear and gravitational collapse supernovae and cosmic gamma-ray bursts, each representing a different type and amount of energy release. This paper summarizes the properties of these explosions and describes new research on thermonuclear explosions and explosions in extended circumstellar media. Parallels are drawn between studies of terrestrial and astrophysical explosions, especially the physics of the transition from deflagration-to-detonation.