Moving Supernovae Beyond the Standard model: A Study of Neutrino Flavor Mixing in Core-Collapse Supernovae

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MacKenzie Warren is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at Michigan State University. Warren will use computer simulations to study how tiny subatomic particles called neutrinos affect supernova explosions of stars. Supernovae are the engines that create and disperse most of the elements that make up the universe, and neutrinos have the strange ability to change their essence, or flavor, a behavior that physicists call "flavor mixing.' Warren's work will be the first to add neutrino flavor mixing to existing sophisticated models of supernovae arising from the collapse of the core of a dying massive star. This will help astronomers to better understand how a supernova explodes and how it creates elements. Warren will also work with an outreach program to host free astronomy nights in public spaces, with the aim of reaching communities that are not otherwise engaged by most science outreach efforts.Warren will incorporate a model of neutrino flavor mixing into the FLASH supernova code to study the effects of neutrino mixing, including matter enhancements and neutrino self-interactions on core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). This project will use both spherically symmetric and two-dimensional simulations to study the effect of neutrino flavor transformations on the range of supernova progenitors, in particular the impact on nucleosynthesis, explodability, the observable neutrino signal, the onset of the neutrino driven winds, and the resultant neutron star and black hole mass distribution. This will lead to a more complete understanding of supernova neutrinos, which in turn will inform the interpretation of observed CCSNe neutrinos and improve our knowledge of the contribution of CCSNe to galactic chemical evolution. To provide astronomy outreach to the public, Warren will work with the Lansing chapter of the Popscope program to take telescopes to public events and public spaces and engage passersby.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.