Unveiling Collapsars: The Most Powerful Explosions in the Cosmos

A collapsar is a hypothetical object that is formed when a massive star undergoes a supernova explosion. The explosion is so powerful that it causes the star to collapse into a black hole, but the collapse is not smooth and uniform. Instead, the star's material falls onto the black hole in a series of clumps, creating a disk-like structure around the black hole. This disk can become unstable and break apart, producing a burst of energy in the form of gamma rays, X-rays, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.

Collapsars are thought to be one of the most powerful explosions in the universe, potentially outshining entire galaxies. They are also thought to be relatively rare, occurring only in certain types of massive stars that have a high concentration of heavy elements.

The term "collapsar" was coined by combining the words "collapse" and "quasar," as the object is thought to be similar to a quasar, which is a distant, highly luminous object that is powered by a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy. However, while quasars are relatively stable and long-lived, collapsars are short-lived and explosive, with a lifespan of only a few seconds or minutes.