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In a particularly stunning example of the Einstein Cross, astronomers have discovered a supernova that can be observed again and again. Gravitational lensing effects result in the light from the stellar explosion taking 4 different routes, each route taking a different amount of time to reach Earth. The star SN Refsdal is/was 9.3 billion light years from Earth, while the lensing galaxy cluster MACS J1149.6+2223 sits a little closer at 5 billion light years distant.
While this isn't the first example of the Einstein Cross effect proposed in 1969, it is the first example of a supernova being viewed through one.
The full paper is available on Sciencemag.org for a fee, but Physics World has an adequate summary of the discovery.
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Einstein Cross Shows Us the Same Supernova Explosion Four Times
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 07 2015, @02:20PM
Partial core collapses are known to give of different wave lengths of light, and dispersal patterns that are different from total core collapses.
A common misconception among amateurs is that supernova occurrence involves an "explosion" or "expansion" at first. The evidence today suggests it's the opposite. There is a partial or total core collapse of the star. The immense pressure and forces result in a supercriticality forming within the star. Basically a smaller, newer, denser, gravitationally-stronger star begins to form somewhere within the core of the existing star.
This new star formation, depending on where it occurs, can have different effects upon its host star. If it happens within the host star's core, we see a traditional full-body collapse take place. The entire host star collapses in onto the new star. This additional influx of matter is what leads to the eventual expansion of a supernova. It's quite a complex process, but it basically involves the matter separating at the quark level. This releases tremendous energy, which overcomes that of the gravitational forces present in the collapsed star. It's at this point that it expands, shooting out quarks. Very shortly after, these quarks will being to recombine into the elements we're familiar with.
A partial core collapse involves the supercriticality of this new star not forming fully within the core of the existing star, but somewhere along the edge of the core. Now in a star that's millions of miles in diameter, this region is quite massive. Only part of the host star collapses into the supercriticality of the new star. The loss of matter causes the remainder of the host star to lose integrity. This loss of integrity allows additional smaller supercriticalities to form, each attracting some of the matter from the host star. The final result is several smaller, weaker supercriticalities surrounding the larger, stronger initial supercriticality. Eventually the largest supercriticality will collapse and release its matter in the form of quarks, which will proceed to destroy the weaker supercriticalities.
My personal belief is that the patterns we're seeing in this case are the stronger supecriticality, surrounded by the smaller weaker supercriticalities that formed due to a partial core collapse of the host star.