An Open-Source Neutrino Radiation Hydrodynamics Code for Core-Collapse Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper introduces an open-source, general-relativistic neutrino transport code for core-collapse supernova simulations, emphasizing computational efficiency and validated accuracy against detailed models.

Contribution

It extends the GR1D code with a neutrino transport scheme based on moment formalisms, including an open-source neutrino interaction library, enabling more efficient multi-dimensional supernova modeling.

Findings

Code performs well compared to full Boltzmann simulations.

Efficiency methods do not compromise result fidelity.

Successfully models failed supernova leading to black hole formation.

Abstract

We present an open-source update to the spherically-symmetric, general-relativistic hydrodynamics, core-collapse supernova (CCSN) code GR1D (O'Connor & Ott, 2010, CQG, 27, 114103). The source code is available at http://www.GR1Dcode.org. We extend its capabilities to include a general relativistic treatment of neutrino transport based on the moment formalisms of Shibata et al., 2011, PTP, 125, 1255 and Cardall et al., 2013, PRD, 87 103004. We pay special attention to implementing and testing numerical methods and approximations that lessen the computational demand of the transport scheme by removing the need to invert large matrices. This is especially important for the implementation and development of moment-like transport methods in two and three dimensions. A critical component of neutrino transport calculations are the neutrino-matter interaction coefficients that describe the production, absorption, scattering, and annihilation of neutrinos. In this article we also describe our open-source, neutrino interaction library NuLib (available at http://www.nulib.org). We believe that an open-source approach to describing these interactions is one of the major steps needed to progress towards robust models of CCSNe and robust predictions of the neutrino signal. We show, via comparisons to full Boltzmann neutrino transport simulations of CCSNe, that our neutrino transport code performs remarkably well. Furthermore, we show that the methods and approximations we employ to increase efficiency do not decrease the fidelity of our results. We also test the ability of our general relativistic transport code to model failed CCSN by evolving a 40 solar-mass progenitor to the onset of collapse to a black hole.