The Multi-Dimensional Character of Core-Collapse Supernovae

TL;DR

This paper reviews three-dimensional simulations of core-collapse supernovae, emphasizing the role of multi-dimensional fluid flows and comparing results across different models to enhance understanding of the explosion mechanism.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of 3D supernova simulations with advanced physics, highlighting the importance of fluid dynamics in explosion outcomes.

Findings

3D simulations reveal complex fluid flow patterns critical to explosion development

Comparison across models increases confidence in simulation-based understanding

Spectral neutrino transport improves the realism of supernova modeling

Abstract

Core-collapse supernovae, the culmination of massive stellar evolution, are spectacular astronomical events and the principle actors in the story of our elemental origins. Our understanding of these events, while still incomplete, centers around a neutrino-driven central engine that is highly hydrodynamically unstable. Increasingly sophisticated simulations reveal a shock that stalls for hundreds of milliseconds before reviving. Though brought back to life by neutrino heating, the development of the supernova explosion is inextricably linked to multi-dimensional fluid flows. In this paper, the outcomes of three-dimensional simulations that include sophisticated nuclear physics and spectral neutrino transport are juxtaposed to learn about the nature of the three dimensional fluid flow that shapes the explosion. Comparison is also made between the results of simulations in spherical symmetry from several groups, to give ourselves confidence in the understanding derived from this juxtaposition.