Simulations of stellar core collapse, bounce, and postbounce evolution with Boltzmann neutrino transport, and implications for the core collapse supernova mechanism

Abstract

In this paper, we present results from a simulation of stellar core collapse, bounce, and postbounce evolution with Boltzmann neutrino transport. We motivate the development of our Boltzmann solver in light of the sensitivity of the neutrino-heating core collapse supernova paradigm to details in the neutrino transport, particularly near the neutrinospheres, where the neutrinos are neither diffusing nor free streaming and a kinetic description is necessary, and in light of the mixed outcomes and transport approximations used in all prior supernova models in both one and two dimensions. We discuss the implications of our findings for the supernova mechanism and future supernova research. We also present the results of a Boltzmann transport prediction of the early neutrino light curves in the model included here.