Three Dimensional Modeling of Core-Collapse Supernovae

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Core-collapse supernovae dramatically announce the death of massive starsand the birth of neutron stars, pulsars, and black holes. They are thesites where most of the heavy elements of Nature are created. Viewed as anuclear physics laboratory, core-collapse supernovae produce some of thehighest densities and energies in the Universe, and during this violentprocess a combination of nuclear physics, turbulent hydrodynamics,radiation transport, and neutrino physics determines whether and how thestar explodes. However, to date the puzzle of the precise mechanism ofexplosion has not been cracked. A thesis of this team is that afundamental impediment to progress over the last few decades may have beenthe lack of access to codes, computers, and resources with which toproperly simulate the collapse phenomenon. This could explain theagonizingly slow march since the 1960's towards demonstrating a robustmechanism of explosion. However, with the state-of-the-art computer codethis team has recently developed, the time may now be ripe to make a finalassault on this central problem in astrophysics. Going to fullythree-dimensional neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics and employing the bestneutrino and nuclear physics may together be the keys to demonstrating andunderstanding the generic core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism.Since these supernova simulations lend themselves easily to public andschool outreach, the team plans to generate video products for publictalks and web-based distribution.Core-collapse supernovae probe the nuclear and particle physics of matterat super-nuclear density, high temperature, and at extremes of isospin.This project supports the experimental nuclear physics program of the NSFby exploring nucleosynthesis in astrophysical explosions, the propertiesof the neutrino, and the equation of state of nuclear matter. The numerical simulations connect directly with the lower-energy programs ofFRIB and FAIR, the high-energy experiments carried out at RHIC and theLHC, and the hyperon-hyperon and hyperon-nucleon programs of JPARC, GSI,JLAB, and NICA. In addition, a solution to the core-collapse supernovaproblem will benefit ongoing efforts of observers and instrumentdesigners in the U.S. and around the world engaged in projects todetermine the origin of the elements, measure gravitational waves (LIGO),and interpret laboratory nuclear reaction rate measurements in light ofstellar nucleosynthesis.