Over a decade ago, a group of supernova explosions with peak luminosities far exceeding (often by >100) those of normal events, has been identified. These superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) have been a focus of intensive study. I review the accumulated observations and discuss the implications for the physics of these extreme explosions. SLSNe can be classified into hydrogen poor (SLSNe-I) and hydrogen rich (SLSNe-II) events. Combining photometric and spectroscopic analysis of samples of nearby SLSNe-I and lower-luminosity events, a threshold of M_g 40 solar). Host galaxies of SLSNe in the nearby universe tend to have low mass and sub-solar metallicity. SLSNe are rare, with rates <100 times lower than ordinary SNe. SLSN cosmology and their use as beacons to study the high-redshift universe offer exciting future prospects.

中文翻译：

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最明亮的超新星

十多年前，已经确定了一组峰值光度远远超过（通常超过 100）正常事件的超新星爆炸。这些超亮超新星（SLSNe）一直是深入研究的焦点。我回顾了累积的观察结果并讨论了这些极端爆炸对物理学的影响。SLSNe 可分为贫氢 (SLSNe-I) 和富氢 (SLSNe-II) 事件。结合对附近 SLSNe-I 和低光度事件样本的光度和光谱分析，阈值为 M_g 40 太阳）。邻近宇宙中 SLSNe 的宿主星系往往具有低质量和亚太阳金属丰度。SLSNe 是罕见的，其比率低于普通 SNe 的 100 倍。SLSN 宇宙学及其作为研究高红移宇宙的信标的用途提供了令人兴奋的未来前景。