Flavor Conversion Enhances or Suppresses Supernova Explodability Independent of the Progenitor Mass

TL;DR

This study shows that neutrino flavor conversion can either promote or suppress supernova explosions, depending on where it occurs in the core, regardless of progenitor mass or nuclear physics details.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified model of flavor conversion in supernova simulations and demonstrates its significant impact on explosion outcomes across various progenitors.

Findings

Flavor conversion can enhance or hinder supernova explosions.

The effect is independent of progenitor mass and nuclear equation of state.

The impact depends on the region within the core where flavor conversion occurs.

Abstract

Flavor conversion can affect the neutrino-driven delayed explosion mechanism of collapsing massive stars, altering the efficiency of shock revival. We perform core-collapse supernova simulations in spherical symmetry for a set of progenitors with masses of $9.75\, M_\odot$, $11\, M_\odot$, $16.5\, M_\odot$, $28\, M_\odot$, $40\, M_\odot$, and $60\, M_\odot$, accounting for a mixing-length treatment for convection. Flavor conversion is modeled assuming instantaneous flavor equipartition below a critical baryon density, while conserving the lepton number. Regardless of the progenitor compactness, its mass, or the nuclear equation of state, we find that flavor conversion can increase heating (cooling) and enhance (hinder) the supernova explosion, if triggered near the gain (neutrino decoupling) region. Our findings suggest that the interplay among the region of the supernova core where flavor conversion occurs, the progenitor properties, and the nuclear equation of state is crucial in determining the fate of explosion and the properties of the compact remnant.