Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

Bridging the Gap: An Explosion of New Explosions

Mansi Kasliwal

Carnegie

Until recently, the venerable field of cosmic explosions was plagued with a glaring six-magnitude luminosity “gap” between the brightest novae and faintest supernovae. Systematic synoptic surveys, serendipitous discoveries and archival searches have started uncovering transients fainter, faster and rarer than supernovae only in the past few years. Theorists predict a variety of mechanisms to produce transients in the gap and observers have the best chance of finding them in the local universe. Here I will present discoveries and unique physics of transients that bridge this gap between novae and supernovae. There is now evidence of multiple, distinct populations of rare transients in this gap.