Giant eruptions of very massive stars

Abstract

Giant eruptions or supernova-impostor events are far more mysterious than true supernovae. An extreme example can release as much radiative energy as a SN, ejecting several M_sun of material. These events involve continuous radiation-driven outflows rather than blast waves. They constitute one of the main unsolved problems in stellar astrophysics, but have received surprisingly little theoretical effort. Here I note some aspects that are not yet familiar to most astronomers.