Supernova theory, numerical and analytic, has made remarkable progress in the past decade. This progress was made possible by more sophisticated simulation tools, especially for neutrino transport, improved microphysics, and deeper insights into the role of hydrodynamic instabilities. Violent, large-scale nonradial mass motions are generic in supernova cores. The neutrino-heating mechanism, aided by nonradial flows, drives explosions, albeit low-energy ones, of O-Ne-Mg-core and some Fe-core progenitors. The characteristics of the neutrino emission from newborn neutron stars were revised, new features of the gravitational-wave signals were discovered, our notion of supernova nucleosynthesis was shattered, and our understanding of pulsar kicks and explosion asymmetries was significantly improved. But simulations also suggest that neutrino-powered explosions might not explain the most energetic supernovae and hypernovae, which seem to demand magnetorotational driving. Now that modeling is being advanced from...

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-nucl-102711-094901

Explosion Mechanisms of Core-Collapse Supernovae

The formation and large-scale propagation of Poynting-dominatedjets produced by accreting, rapidly rotating black hole systems are studied by numerically integrating the general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic equations of motion to follow the self-consistent interaction between accretion discs and black holes. This study extends previous similar work by studying jets till t ≈ 10 4 GM/c 3 out to r ≈ 10 4 GM/c 2 , by which the jet is superfast magnetosonic and moves at a lab-frame bulk Lorentz factor of Γ ∼ 10 with a maximum terminal Lorentz factor of Γ ∞ ≤ 10 3 . The radial structure of the Poynting-dominated jet is piece-wise self-similar, and fits to flow quantities along the field line are provided. Beyond the Alfven surface at r ∼ 10-100GM/c 2 , the jet becomes marginally unstable to (at least) current-driven instabilities. Such instabilities drive shocks in the jet that limit the efficiency of magnetic acceleration and collimation. These instabilities also induce jet substructure with 3 ≤ Γ ≤ 15. The jet is shown to only marginally satisfy the necessary and sufficient conditions for kink instability, so this may explain how astrophysical jets can extend to large distances without completely disrupting. At large distance, the jet angular structure is Gaussian-like (or uniform within the core with sharp exponential wings) with a half-opening angle of ≈5° and there is an extended component out to ≈ 27°. Unlike in some hydrodynamic simulations, the environment is found to play a negligible role in jet structure, acceleration, and collimation as long as the ambient pressure of the surrounding medium is small compared to the magnetic pressure in the jet.

General relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the jet formation and large-scale propagation from black hole accretion systems

We present a series of two-dimensional core-collapse supernova simulations for a range of progenitor masses and different input physics. These models predict a range of supernova energies and compact remnant masses. In particular, we study two mechanisms for black hole formation: prompt collapse and delayed collapse owing to fallback. For massive progenitors (greater than 20 M☉), after a hydrodynamic time for the helium core (a few minutes to a few hours), fallback drives the compact object beyond the maximum neutron star mass, causing it to collapse into a black hole. With the current accuracy of the models, progenitors more massive than 40 M☉ form black holes directly with no supernova explosion (if rotating, these black holes may be the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts). We calculate the mass distribution of black holes formed and compare these predictions to the observations, which represent a small biased subset of the black hole population. Uncertainties in these estimates are discussed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/307647/pdf

Mass Limits For Black Hole Formation

We present results of a systematic study of failing core-collapse supernovae and the formation of stellar-mass black holes (BHs). Using our open-source general-relativistic 1.5D code GR1D equipped with a three-species neutrino leakage/heating scheme and over 100 presupernova models, we study the effects of the choice of nuclear equation
of state (EOS), zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass and metallicity, rotation, and mass-loss prescription on
BH formation. We find that the outcome, for a given EOS, can be estimated, to first order, by a single parameter,
the compactness of the stellar core at bounce. By comparing protoneutron star (PNS) structure at the onset
of gravitational instability with solutions of the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkof equations, we find that thermal
pressure support in the outer PNS core is responsible for raising the maximum PNS mass by up to 25% above the
cold NS value. By artificially increasing neutrino heating, we find the critical neutrino heating efficiency required
for exploding a given progenitor structure and connect these findings with ZAMS conditions, establishing, albeit
approximately, for the first time based on actual collapse simulations, the mapping between ZAMS parameters and
the outcome of core collapse. We also study the effect of progenitor rotation and find that the dimensionless spin of
nascent BHs may be robustly limited below a* = Jc/GM^2 = 1 by the appearance of nonaxisymmetric rotational
instabilities.

/pdf/black-hole-formation-in-failing-core-collapse-supernovae-33c55lmghq.pdf

Black hole formation in failing core-collapse supernovae

Many of the currently available equations of state for core-collapse supernova simulations give large neutron star radii and do not provide large enough neutron star masses, both of which are inconsistent with some recent neutron star observations. In addition, one of the critical uncertainties in the nucleon-nucleon interaction, the nuclear symmetry energy, is not fully explored by the currently available equations of state. In this article, we construct two new equations of state which match recent neutron star observations and provide more flexibility in studying the dependence on nuclear matter properties. The equations of state are also provided in tabular form, covering a wide range in density, temperature, and asymmetry, suitable for astrophysical simulations. These new equations of state are implemented into our spherically symmetric core-collapse supernova model, which is based on general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics with three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport. The results are compared with commonly used equations of state in supernova simulations of 11.2 and 40 M ☉ progenitors. We consider only equations of state which are fitted to nuclear binding energies and other experimental and observational constraints. We find that central densities at bounce are weakly correlated with L and that there is a moderate influence of the symmetry energy on the evolution of the electron fraction. The new models also obey the previously observed correlation between the time to black hole formation and the maximum mass of an s = 4 neutron star.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0004-637X/774/1/17/pdf

Core-collapse supernova equations of state based on neutron star observations

We present an implicit finite difference representation for general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics in spherical symmetry. Our code, Agile-Boltztran, solves the Boltzmann transport equation for the angular and spectral neutrino distribution functions in self-consistent simulations of stellar core collapse and postbounce evolution. It implements a dynamically adaptive grid in comoving coordinates. Most macroscopically interesting physical quantities are defined by expectation values of the distribution function. We optimize the finite differencing of the microscopic transport equation for a consistent evolution of important expectation values. We test our code in simulations launched from progenitor stars with 13 solar masses and 40 solar masses. ~0.5 s after core collapse and bounce, the protoneutron star in the latter case reaches its maximum mass and collapses further to form a black hole. When the hydrostatic gravitational contraction sets in, we find a transient increase in electron flavor neutrino luminosities due to a change in the accretion rate. The muon- and tauon-neutrino luminosities and rms energies, however, continue to rise because previously shock-heated material with a non-degenerate electron gas starts to replace the cool degenerate material at their production site. We demonstrate this by supplementing the concept of neutrinospheres with a more detailed statistical description of the origin of escaping neutrinos. We compare the evolution of the 13 solar mass progenitor star to simulations with the MGFLD approximation, based on a recently developed flux limiter. We find similar results in the postbounce phase and validate this MGFLD approach for the spherically symmetric case with standard input physics.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0207036.pdf

A Finite Difference Representation of Neutrino Radiation Hydrodynamics in Spherically Symmetric General Relativistic Space-Time

We couple two-dimensional hydrodynamics to realistic one-dimensional multigroup flux-limited diffusion neutrino transport to investigate protoneutron star convection in core collapse supernovae, and more specifically, the interplay between its development and neutrino transport, for both 15 and 25 solar mass models. In the presence of neutrino transport, protoneutron star convection velocities are too small relative to bulk inflow velocities to result in any significant convective transport of entropy and leptons. A simple analytical model supports our numerical results, indicating that the inclusion of neutrino transport reduces the entropy-driven (lepton-driven) convection growth rates and asymptotic velocities by a factor of 3 (50) at the neutrinosphere and a factor 250 (1000) at a density of 10^{12} g/cm^{3}, for both our 15 and 25 solar mass models. Moreover, when transport is included, the initial postbounce entropy gradient is smoothed out by neutrino diffusion, whereas the initial lepton gradient is maintained by electron capture and neutrino escape near the neutrinosphere. Despite the maintenance of the lepton gradient, protoneutron star convection does not develop over the 100 ms duration typical of all our simulations, except in the instance where ``low-test'' initial conditions are used, which are generated by core collapse and bounce simulations that neglect neutrino-electron scattering and ion-ion screening corrections to neutrino- nucleus elastic scattering.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/9709184.pdf

The Interplay Between Protoneutron Star Convection and Neutrino Transport in Core Collapse Supernovae

We compare Newtonian three-flavor multigroup Boltzmann (MGBT) and (Bruenn's) multigroup flux-limited diffusion (MGFLD) neutrino transport in postbounce core-collapse supernova environments. We focus our study on quantities central to the postbounce neutrino heating mechanism for reviving the stalled shock. Stationary-state three-flavor neutrino distributions are developed in thermally and hydrodynamically frozen time slices obtained from core collapse and bounce simulations that implement Lagrangian hydrodynamics and MGFLD neutrino transport. We obtain distributions for time slices at 106 and 233 ms after core bounce for the core of a 15 M☉ progenitor, and at 156 ms after core bounce for a 25 M☉ progenitor. For both transport methods, the electron neutrino and antineutrino luminosities, rms energies, and mean inverse flux factors, all of which enter the neutrino heating rates, are computed as functions of radius and compared. The net neutrino heating rates are also computed as functions of radius and compared. Notably, we find significant differences in neutrino luminosities and mean inverse flux factors between the two transport methods for both precollapse models and for all three time slices. In each case, the luminosities for each transport method begin to diverge above the neutrinospheres, where the MGBT luminosities become larger than their MGFLD counterparts, finally settling to a constant difference maintained to the edge of the core. We find that the mean inverse flux factors, which describe the degree of forward peaking in the neutrino radiation field, also differ significantly between the two transport methods, with MGBT providing more isotropic radiation fields in the gain region. Most important, for a region above the gain radius we find net heating rates for MGBT that are as much as ~2 times the corresponding MGFLD rates, and we find net cooling rates below the gain radius that are typically ~0.8 times the MGFLD rates. These differences stem from differences in the neutrino luminosities and mean inverse flux factors, which can be as much as 11% and 24%, respectively. They are greatest at earlier postbounce times for a given progenitor mass and, for a given postbounce time, greater for greater progenitor mass. We discuss the ramifications that these new results have for the supernova mechanism.

A Comparison of Boltzmann and Multigroup Flux-limited Diffusion Neutrino Transport during the Postbounce Shock Reheating Phase in Core-Collapse Supernovae

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.

/pdf/the-multi-dimensional-character-of-core-collapse-supernovae-59gk6ckhl6.pdf

The Multi-Dimensional Character of Core-Collapse Supernovae

/pdf/the-multi-dimensional-character-of-core-collapse-supernovae-47huzthl41.pdf

S. W. Bruenn

Papers

A Finite Difference Representation of Neutrino Radiation Hydrodynamics in Spherically Symmetric General Relativistic Space-Time

The Interplay Between Protoneutron Star Convection and Neutrino Transport in Core Collapse Supernovae

A Comparison of Boltzmann and Multigroup Flux-limited Diffusion Neutrino Transport during the Postbounce Shock Reheating Phase in Core-Collapse Supernovae

The Multi-Dimensional Character of Core-Collapse Supernovae

The Multi-dimensional Character of Core-collapse Supernovae