Long-time evolution of core-collapse supernovae

Abstract

The puzzle of core-collapse supernovae (CCSN) remains complicated. New insights from theory and observations bring the pieces together, but we still have to witness the complete picture. Simulations of CCSN are key to understand the mechanisms that drive the explosion. While the explosion itself is nowadays studied in great detail, the long-time evolution has received less attention in studies. This is partly because of the high computational costs for comprehensive long-time simulations. However, the seconds after the initial explosion are nevertheless critical for remnant and ejecta properties, as well as for the nucleosynthesis in a CCSN. In this study, we investigate the influence of neutrino heating and rotation on both the explosion and long-time evolution. We perform axisymmetric CCSN simulations and use adjustable parameters that allow us to study a broad range of possible scenarios. Our results suggest that increased neutrino heating is beneficial for the explosion, which is consistent with previous studies. On the other hand, rotation can be detrimental to it. In the long-time evolution, rotation reduces the mass accretion onto the proto-neutron star and creates favorable conditions for the formation of neutrino-driven winds. We furthermore investigate the trajectories of ejected fluid elements by developing a tracer particle scheme. This scheme allows for a comprehensive study of ejecta properties and an estimation of the nucleosynthesis in CCSN simulations. We test the robustness of our main results with simulations of different progenitor stars. Overall, we conclude that the long-time evolution in CCSN is important for the final explosion energy, remnant and ejecta properties.