Supernovae, hypernovae and color superconductivity

We argue that color superconductivity (CSC, Cooper pairing in quark matter leading to the breaking of SU(3) color symmetry) may play a role in triggering the explosive endpoint of stellar evolution in massive stars (M > 8M⊙). We show that the binding energy release in the transition of a subcore region to the CSC phase can be of the same order of magnitude as the gravitational binding energy release from core collapse. The core temperature during collapse is likely below the critical temperature for CSC, and the transition is first order, proceeding on Fermi timescales when the pressure reaches a critical value of several times nuclear density. We also discuss the implications for hypernova events with total ejecta energy of 10-100 times that of type II supernova. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.