Core-collapse Supernovae

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013

OSTI ID:1092198

Hix, William Raphael ^[1]; Lentz, E. J. ^[2]; Baird, Mark L ^[1]; Chertkow, Merek A ^[1]; Lee, Ching-Tsai ^[3]; Blondin, J. M. ^[4]; Bruenn, S. W. ^[5]; Messer, Bronson ^[1]; Mezzacappa, Anthony ^[1]

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1. ORNL
2. University of Tennessee (UTK) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)
4. North Carolina State University
5. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

Marking the inevitable death of a massive star, and the birth of a neutron star or black hole, core-collapse supernovae bring together physics at a wide range in spatial scales, from kilometer-sized hydrodynamic motions (growing to gigameter scale) down to femtometer scale nuclear reactions. Carrying 10$$^{51}$$ ergs of kinetic energy and a rich-mix of newly synthesized atomic nuclei, core-collapse supernovae are the preeminent foundries of the nuclear species which make up ourselves and our solar system. We will discuss our emerging understanding of the convectively unstable, neutrino-driven explosion mechanism, based on increasingly realistic neutrino-radiation hydrodynamic simulations that include progressively better nuclear and particle physics. Recent multi-dimensional models with spectral neutrino transport from several research groups, which slowly develop successful explosions for a range of progenitors, have motivated changes in our understanding of the neutrino reheating mechanism. In a similar fashion, improvements in nuclear physics, most notably explorations of weak interactions on nuclei and the nuclear equation of state, continue to refine our understanding of how supernovae explode. Recent progress on both the macroscopic and microscopic effects that affect core-collapse supernovae are discussed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1092198
• Resource Relation: Conference: 6th European Summer School on Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics, Acireale, Italy, 20110918, 20110927
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English