Theoretical High Energy Astrophysics

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Supernovae are the most energetic events in the evolution of stars. They also are relatively rare events, with the last one observed in our Milky Way Galaxy dating back nearly 400 years. Therefore, the event of Supernova 1987A that occured in February of 1987 in the Large Magellenic Cloud, at a distance of 160,000 light-years, was hailed as a major astronomical event and created much activity both in observing the event and in explaining it theoretically. Woosley works at the cutting edge of modelling supernova outbursts and the evolution of the precursor stars leading up to the explosion, using hydrodynamic numerical modeling and extensive nuclear reaction networks. The main focus of the current proposal is to model Supernova 1987A and its precursor star.