  It is widely thought that core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), the explosions of
massive stars following the collapse of the stars' iron cores, is obtained due
to energy deposition by neutrinos. So far, this scenario was not demonstrated
from first principles. Kushnir and Katz (2014) have recently shown, by using
one-dimensional simulations, that if the neutrinos failed to explode the star,
a thermonuclear explosion of the outer shells is possible for some (tuned)
initial profiles. However, the energy released was small and negligible amounts
of ejected $^{56}$Ni were obtained, implying that these one-dimensional
collapse induced thermonuclear explosions (CITE) are unlikely to represent
typical CCSNe. Here I provide evidence supporting a scenario in which the
majority of CCSNe are the result of CITE. I use two-dimensional simulations to
show that collapse of stars that include slowly (few percent of breakup)
rotating $\sim0.1-10\,M_{\odot}$ shells of mixed helium-oxygen, leads to an
ignition of a thermonuclear detonation wave that unbinds the stars' outer
layers. Simulations of massive stars with different properties show that CITE
is a robust process, and results in explosions with kinetic energies in the
range of $10^{49}-10^{52}\,\textrm{erg}$, and $^{56}$Ni yields of up to
$\sim\,M_{\odot}$, which are correlated, in agreement with observations for the
majority of CCSNe. Stronger explosions are predicted from higher mass
progenitors that leave more massive remnants, in contrast to the neutrino
mechanism. Neutron stars are produced in weak ($\lt10^{51}\,\textrm{erg}$)
explosions, while strong ($\gt10^{51}\,\textrm{erg}$) explosions leave black
hole remnants.
