Self‐shielded Downflows in Core‐Collapse Supernovae: Prospects for Laser Experiments

Abstract

The core-collapse supernova mechanism pushes the frontiers of many aspects of physics and numerical modeling: equations of state for dense matter, neutrino cross sections and mixing, general relativity, and convection. The conditions in the convective layer driving the supernova explosion lead to both optically thin and optically thick regions. Thus, the convection is more complicated than the standard entropy-driven convection seen in a pot of boiling water. In this case, the convection is bathed in a radiation flow which heats the material and affects the convection. Radiation hydrodynamics, especially in the regime for which the optical depth is not extreme (τ ≈ 1), is not well understood. Fortunately, it may be possible to construct laboratory tests of this convection using laser experiments. In this paper, we summarize the neutrino-driven core-collapse supernova mechanism, describing its sensitivity to a range of physical parameters through a series of simulations. In particular, we notice that the varying results of the simulations may not be a difference in the neutrino heating rates alone, but rather a difference in the coupling of radiation with convection. This problem could be solved with an appropriately designed laser experiment.