Core-collapse Supernova Mechanism Research Articles

A Theory for Neutron Star and Black Hole Kicks and Induced Spins

Using 20 long-term 3D core-collapse supernova simulations, we find that lower compactness progenitors that explode quasi-spherically due to the short delay to explosion experience smaller neutron star recoil kicks in the ∼100−200 km s−1 range, while higher compactness progenitors that explode later and more aspherically leave neutron stars with kicks in the ∼300−1000 km s−1 range. In addition, we find that these two classes are correlated with the gravitational mass of the neutron star. This correlation suggests that the survival of binary neutron star systems may in part be due to their lower kick speeds. We also find a correlation between the kick and both the mass dipole of the ejecta and the explosion energy. Furthermore, one channel of black hole birth leaves masses of ∼10 M ⊙, is not accompanied by a neutrino-driven explosion, and experiences small kicks. A second channel is through a vigorous explosion that leaves behind a black hole with a mass of ∼3.0 M ⊙ kicked to high speeds. We find that the induced spins of nascent neutron stars range from seconds to ∼10 ms, but do not yet see a significant spin/kick correlation for pulsars. We suggest that if an initial spin biases the explosion direction, a spin/kick correlation would be a common byproduct of the neutrino mechanism of core-collapse supernovae. Finally, the induced spin in explosive black hole formation is likely large and in the collapsar range. This new 3D model suite provides a greatly expanded perspective and appears to explain some observed pulsar properties by default.

Nonlinear Evolution of Fast Collective Neutrino Oscillations in Core-Collapse Supernovae

According to one of the most promising supernova theories, the neutrino-heating mechanism, neutrinos are responsible for transferring the energy released during the gravitational collapse of massive stars to their surroundings. If neutrino flavors are converted fast in the cores, the efficiency of neutrino heating is enhanced and can change the dynamics of the shock wave in supernovae. In this article, we investigate the dynamics of fast neutrino flavor conversions with collisions under energy-dependent treatment in detail. For the first time, we use a realistic initial condition, which is taken from the results of the self-consistent, realistic Boltzmann simulations in two spatial dimensions under axisymmetry. We report that the neutrino flavor conversion will be significantly enhanced if the energy-dependent collision term is considered in the neutrino transport equation which has been ignored in previous studies. We present the preliminary results of our investigation here, which are consistent with other studies which were conducted under simple treatments. It is believed that such findings may have an impact on the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae, nucleosynthesis and neutrino astronomy.

The Jets and the Neutron Star Kick Velocity of the Supernova Remnant CTB 1

We identify jet-shaped morphology in the core-collapse supernova remnant (SNR) CTB 1 that includes two opposite structural features. We identify these as the imprints of a pair of jets that were among the last jets to explode the massive stellar progenitor of CTB 1. We find the projected angle between the jets’ axis and the direction of the pulsar velocity, which is the neutron star natal kick, to be α = 78°. We tentatively identify possible signatures of a second pair of opposite jets along a different direction. If this identification holds, SNR CTB 1 has a point-symmetric structure. The morphology and large angle of the jets’ axis to kick velocity are expected in the jittering jets explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae.

Nonlinear Evolution of Fast Collective Neutrino Oscillations in Core-collapse Supernovae

According to one of the most promising supernova theories, the neutrino-heating mechanism, neutrinos are responsible for transferring the energy released during the gravitational collapse of massive stars to their surroundings. If neutrino flavors are converted fast in the cores, the efficiency of neutrino heating is enhanced and can change the dynamics of the shock wave in supernovae. In this article, we investigate the dynamics of fast neutrino flavor conversions with collisions under energy-dependent treatment in detail. For the first time, we use a realistic initial condition, which is taken from the results of the self-consistent, realistic Boltzmann simulations in two spatial dimensions under axisymmetry. We report that the neutrino flavor conversion will be significantly enhanced if the energy-dependent collision term is considered in the neutrino transport equation which has been ignored in previous studies. We present the preliminary results of our investigation here, which are consistent with other studies which were conducted under simple treatments. It is believed that such findings may have an impact on the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae, \mbox{nucleosynthesis and neutrino astronomy.

Inferring the Progenitor Mass–Kinetic Energy Relation of Stripped-envelope Core-collapse Supernovae from Nebular Spectroscopy

The relation between the progenitor mass and the kinetic energy of the explosion is a key toward revealing the explosion mechanism of stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae (SESNe). Here, we present a method to derive this relation using the nebular spectra of SESNe, based on the correlation between [O i]/[Ca ii], which is an indicator of progenitor mass, and the width of [O i], which measures the expansion velocity of the oxygen-rich material. To explain the correlation, the kinetic energy (E K) is required to be positively correlated with the progenitor mass as represented by the CO core mass (M CO). We demonstrate that SNe IIb/Ib and SNe Ic/Ic-BL follow the same M CO–E K scaling relation, which suggests that helium-rich and helium-deficient SNe share the same explosion mechanism. The M CO–E K relation derived in this work is compared with the ones derived from early phase observations. The results are largely in good agreement. Combined with early phase observations, the method presented in this work provides a chance to scan through the ejecta from the outermost region to the dense inner core, which is important to reveal the global properties of the ejecta and constrain the explosion mechanism of core-collapse SNe.

Spontaneous scalarization as a new core-collapse supernova mechanism and its multimessenger signals

We perform multi-dimensional core-collapse supernova (CCSN) simulations in a massive scalar-tensor theory for the first time with a realistic equation of state and multi-energy neutrino radiation. Among the set of our models varying the scalar mass and the coupling strength between the scalar and gravitational fields, a particular model allows for recurrent spontaneous scalarizations (SSs) in the proto-neutron star (PNS). Each SS induces the PNS collapse and subsequent bounce, from which devastating shock waves emanate and eject the PNS envelope. The explosion energy can easily exceed $\mathcal O(10^{51})$ erg. This study reveals new aspects of SS as the explosion mechanism of CCSNe. We also discuss its characteristic multi-messenger signals: neutrinos and gravitational waves.

Constraints on the Explosion Timescale of Core-collapse Supernovae Based on Systematic Analysis of Light Curves

The explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae is not fully understood yet. In this work, we give constraints on the explosion timescale based on 56Ni synthesized by supernova explosions. First, we systematically analyze multiband light curves of 82 stripped-envelope supernovae (SESNe) to obtain bolometric light curves, which is among the largest samples of the bolometric light curves of SESNe derived from the multiband spectral energy distribution. We measure the decline timescale and the peak luminosity of the light curves and estimate the ejecta mass (M ej) and 56Ni mass (M Ni) to connect the observed properties with the explosion physics. We then carry out one-dimensional hydrodynamics and nucleosynthesis calculations, varying the progenitor mass and the explosion timescale. From the calculations, we show that the maximum 56Ni mass that 56Ni-powered SNe can reach is expressed as M Ni ≲ 0.2 M ej. Comparing the results from the observations and the calculations, we show that the explosion timescale shorter than 0.3 s explains the synthesized 56Ni mass of the majority of the SESNe.

Neutrino fast flavor instability in three dimensions

Neutrino flavor instabilities have the potential to shuffle neutrinos between electron, mu, and tau flavor states, possibly modifying the core-collapse supernova mechanism and the heavy elements ejected from neutron star mergers. Analytic methods indicate the presence of so-called fast flavor transformation instabilities, and numerical simulations can be used to probe the nonlinear evolution of the neutrinos. Simulations of the fast flavor instability to date have been performed assuming imposed symmetries. We perform simulations of the fast flavor instability that include all three spatial dimensions and all relevant momentum dimensions in order to probe the validity of these approximations. If the fastest growing mode has a wave number along a direction of imposed symmetry, then the instability can be suppressed. The late-time equilibrium distribution of flavor, however, seems to be little affected by the number of spatial dimensions. This is a promising hint that the results of lower-dimensionality simulations to date have predictions that are robust against their the number of spatial dimensions, though simulations of a wider variety of neutrino distributions need to be carried out to support this claim more generally.

Supernova Model Discrimination with Hyper-Kamiokande

Abstract Core-collapse supernovae are among the most magnificent events in the observable universe. They produce many of the chemical elements necessary for life to exist and their remnants—neutron stars and black holes—are interesting astrophysical objects in their own right. However, despite millennia of observations and almost a century of astrophysical study, the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae is not yet well understood. Hyper-Kamiokande is a next-generation neutrino detector that will be able to observe the neutrino flux from the next galactic core-collapse supernova in unprecedented detail. We focus on the first 500 ms of the neutrino burst, corresponding to the accretion phase, and use a newly-developed, high-precision supernova event generator to simulate Hyper-Kamiokande's response to five different supernova models. We show that Hyper-Kamiokande will be able to distinguish between these models with high accuracy for a supernova at a distance of up to 100 kpc. Once the next galactic supernova happens, this ability will be a powerful tool for guiding simulations toward a precise reproduction of the explosion mechanism observed in nature.

A Consistent Modeling of Neutrino-driven Wind with Accretion Flow onto a Protoneutron Star and Its Implications for 56Ni Production

Abstract Details of the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are not yet fully understood. There is now an increasing number of successful examples of reproducing explosions in the first-principles simulations, which have shown a slow increase of explosion energy. However, it was recently pointed out that the growth rates of the explosion energy of these simulations are insufficient to produce enough 56Ni mass to account for observations. We refer to this issue as the “nickel mass problem” (Ni problem, hereafter) in this paper. The neutrino-driven wind is suggested as one of the most promising candidates for the solution to the Ni problem in previous literature, but a multidimensional simulation for this is computationally too expensive to allow long-term investigations. In this paper, we first built a consistent model of the neutrino-driven wind with an accretion flow onto a protoneutron star, by connecting a steady-state solution of the neutrino-driven wind and a phenomenological mass accretion model. Comparing the results of our model with the results of first-principles simulations, we find that the total ejectable amount of the neutrino-driven wind is roughly determined within ∼1 s from the onset of the explosion and the supplementable amount at a late phase (t e ≳ 1 s) remains M ej ≲ 0.01 M ⊙ at most. Our conclusion is that it is difficult to solve the Ni problem by continuous injection of 56Ni by the neutrino-driven wind. We suggest that the total amount of synthesized 56Ni can be estimated robustly if simulations are followed up to ∼2 s.

Constraining Properties of the Next Nearby Core-collapse Supernova with Multimessenger Signals

Abstract With the advent of modern neutrino and gravitational wave (GW) detectors, the promise of multimessenger detections of the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) has become very real. Such detections will give insight into the CCSN mechanism and the structure of the progenitor star, and may resolve longstanding questions in fundamental physics. In order to properly interpret these detections, a thorough understanding of the landscape of possible CCSN events, and their multimessenger signals, is needed. We present detailed predictions of neutrino and GW signals from 1D simulations of stellar core collapse, spanning the landscape of core-collapse progenitors from 9 to 120 M ⊙. In order to achieve explosions in 1D, we use the Supernova Turbulence In Reduced-dimensionality model, which includes the effects of turbulence and convection in 1D supernova simulations to mimic the 3D explosion mechanism. We study the GW emission from the 1D simulations using an astroseismology analysis of the protoneutron star. We find that the neutrino and GW signals are strongly correlated with the structure of the progenitor star and remnant compact object. Using these correlations, future detections of the first few seconds of neutrino and GW emission from a galactic CCSN may be able to provide constraints on stellar evolution independent of preexplosion imaging and the mass of the compact object remnant prior to fallback accretion.

Sensitivity of 44Ti and 56Ni Production in Core-collapse Supernova Shock-driven Nucleosynthesis to Nuclear Reaction Rate Variations

Abstract Recent observational advances have enabled high resolution mapping of 44Ti in core-collapse supernova (CCSN) remnants. Comparisons between observations and models provide stringent constraints on the CCSN mechanism. However, past work has identified several uncertain nuclear reaction rates that influence 44Ti and 56Ni production in postprocessing model calculations. We evolved one-dimensional models of 15 M ⊙, 18 M ⊙, 22 M ⊙, and 25 M ⊙ stars from zero age main sequence through CCSN using Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics and investigated the previously identified reaction rate sensitivities of 44Ti and 56Ni production. We tested the robustness of our results by making various assumptions about the CCSN explosion energy and mass cut. We found a number of reactions that have a significant impact on the nucleosynthesis of 44Ti and 56Ni, particularly for lower progenitor masses. Notably, the reaction rates , , , , , , , , , , and are influential for a large number of model conditions. Furthermore, we found the list of influential reactions identified by previous postprocessing studies of CCSN shock-driven nucleosynthesis is likely incomplete, motivating future larger-scale sensitivity studies.

Simulating Turbulence-aided Neutrino-driven Core-collapse Supernova Explosions in One Dimension

Abstract The core-collapse supernova (CCSN) mechanism is fundamentally 3D, with instabilities, convection, and turbulence playing crucial roles in aiding neutrino-driven explosions. Simulations of CCNSe including accurate treatments of neutrino transport and sufficient resolution to capture key instabilities remain among the most expensive numerical simulations in astrophysics, prohibiting large parameter studies in 2D and 3D. Studies spanning a large swath of the incredibly varied initial conditions of CCSNe are possible in 1D, though such simulations must be artificially driven to explode. We present a new method for including the most important effects of convection and turbulence in 1D simulations of neutrino-driven CCSNe, called Supernova Turbulence In Reduced-dimensionality, or STIR. Our new approach includes crucial terms resulting from the turbulent and convective motions of the flow. We estimate the strength of convection and turbulence using a modified mixing-length theory approach, introducing a few free parameters to the model that are fit to the results of 3D simulations. For sufficiently large values of the mixing-length parameter, turbulence-aided neutrino-driven explosions are obtained. We compare the results of STIR to high-fidelity 3D simulations and perform a parameter study of CCSN explosion using 200 solar-metallicity progenitor models from 9 to 120 . We find that STIR is a better predictor of which models will explode in multidimensional simulations than other methods of driving explosions in 1D. We also present a preliminary investigation of predicted observable characteristics of the CCSN population from STIR, such as the distributions of explosion energies and remnant masses.

Fast collective neutrino oscillations inside the neutrino sphere in core-collapse supernovae

Neutrinos are believed to have a key role in the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae as they carry most of the energy released by the gravitational collapse of a massive star. If their flavor is converted fast inside the neutrino sphere, the supernova explosion may be influenced. This paper is reporting the results of the extended work of our previous paper. We perform a thorough survey of the ELN crossing in one of our self-consistent, realistic Boltzmann simulations in two spatial dimensions under axisymmetry for the existence of the crossings between $\nu_e$ and $\bar\nu_e$ angular distributions, or the electron lepton number (ELN) crossing. We report for the first time the positive detections deep inside the core of the massive star in the vicinity of neutrino sphere at $r$ $\approx$ 16 - 21 km. We find that low values of the electron fraction $Y_e$ produced by convective motions together with the appearance of light elements are critically important to give rise to the ELN crossing by enhancing the chemical potential difference between proton and neutron, and hence by mitigating the Fermi-degeneracy of $\nu_e$. Since the region of positive detection are sustained and, in fact, expanding with time, it may have an impact on the explosion of core-collapse supernovae, observational neutrino astronomy and nucleosynthesis of heavy nuclei.

Nucleosynthesis Constraints on the Energy Growth Timescale of a Core-collapse Supernova Explosion

Abstract Details of the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are not yet fully understood. There are an increasing number of numerical examples by ab initio core-collapse simulations leading to an explosion. Most, if not all, of the ab initio core-collapse simulations represent a “slow” explosion in which the observed explosion energy (∼1051 erg) is reached in a timescale of ≳1 s. It is, however, unclear whether such a slow explosion is consistent with observations. In this work, by performing nuclear reaction network calculations for a range of the explosion timescale t grow, from the rapid to slow models, we aim at providing nucleosynthetic diagnostics on the explosion timescale. We employ one-dimensional hydrodynamic and nucleosynthesis simulations above the proto–neutron star core, by parameterizing the nature of the explosion mechanism by t grow. The results are then compared to various observational constraints: the masses of 56Ni derived for typical CCSNe, the masses of 57Ni and 44Ti observed for SN 1987A, and the abundance patterns observed in extremely metal-poor stars. We find that these observational constraints are consistent with the “rapid” explosion (t grow ≲ 250 ms), and especially the best match is found for a nearly instantaneous explosion (t grow ≲ 50 ms). Our finding places a strong constraint on the explosion mechanism; the slow mechanism (t grow ≳ 1000 ms) would not satisfy these constraints, and the ab initio simulations will need to realize a rapid explosion.

On the occurrence of fast neutrino flavor conversions in multidimensional supernova models

The dense neutrino medium in a core-collapse supernova or a neutron-star merger event can experience fast flavor conversions on time/distance scales that are much smaller than those of vacuum oscillations. It is believed that fast neutrino flavor transformation occurs in the region where the angular distributions of $\nu_e$ and $\bar\nu_e$ cross each other. We present the first study of this crossing phenomenon and the fast neutrino flavor conversions in multidimensional (multi-D) supernova models. We examine the neutrino distributions obtained by solving the Boltzmann transport equation for several fixed profiles which are representative snapshots taken from separate 2D and 3D supernova simulations with an $11.2 M_\odot$ progenitor model. Our research shows that the spherically asymmetric patterns of the $\nu_e$ and $\bar\nu_e$ fluxes in multi-D models can assist the appearance of the crossing between the $\nu_e$ and $\bar\nu_e$ angular distributions. In the models that we have studied, there exist unstable neutrino oscillation modes in and beyond the neutrino decoupling region which have amplitude growth rates as large as an $e$-fold per nanosecond. This finding can have important consequences for the explosion mechanism, nucleosynthesis, and neutrino signals of core-collapse supernovae.

Neutrino flavor as a test of the explosion mechanism of core-collapse supernovae

We study the ratio of neutrino-proton elastic scattering to inverse beta decay event counts, measurable in a scintillation detector like JUNO, as a key observable for identifying the explosion mechanism of a galactic core-collapse supernova. If the supernova is not powered by the core but rather, e.g., by collapse-induced thermonuclear explosion, then a prolonged period of accretion-dominated neutrino luminosity is predicted. Using 1D numerical simulations, we show that the distinct resulting flavour composition of the neutrino burst can be tested in JUNO with high significance, overcoming theoretical uncertainties in the progenitor star profile and equation of state.

The impact of different neutrino transport methods on multidimensional core-collapse supernova simulations

Neutrinos play a crucial role in the core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosion mechanism. The requirement of accurately calculating the transport of neutrinos makes simulations of the CCSN mechanism extremely challenging and computationally expensive. Historically, this stiff challenge has been met by making approximations to the full transport equation. In this work, we compare CCSN simulations in one- and two-dimensions with three approximate neutrino transport schemes, each implemented in the FLASH simulation framework. We compare a two-moment M1 scheme with an analytic closure (M1), the isotropic diffusion source approximation (IDSA), and the advanced spectral leakage method. We identify and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme. For each approximate transport scheme, we use identical grid setups, hydrodynamics, and gravity solvers to investigate the transport effects on supernova shock dynamics and neutrino quantities. We find that the transport scheme has a small effect on the evolution of protoneutron star (PNS) radius, PNS mass, and the mass accretion rate. The neutrino luminosities, mean energies, and shock radii have a ∼10%–20% quantitative difference but the overall qualitative trends are fairly consistent between all three approximations. We find larger differences in the gain region properties, including the gain region mass and the net heating rate in the gain region, as well as the strength of PNS convection in the core. We investigate the progenitor, nuclear equation of state, and stochastic perturbation dependence of our simulations and find similar magnitudes of impact on key quantities. We also compare the computational expense of the various approximations.

Global comparison of core-collapse supernova simulations in spherical symmetry

We present a comparison between several simulation codes designed to study the core-collapse supernova mechanism. We pay close attention to controlling the initial conditions and input physics in order to ensure a meaningful and informative comparison. Our goal is three-fold. First, we aim to demonstrate the current level of agreement between various groups studying the core-collapse supernova central engine. Second, we desire to form a strong basis for future simulation codes and methods to compare to. Lastly, we want this work to be a stepping stone for future work exploring more complex simulations of core-collapse supernovae, i.e., simulations in multiple dimensions and simulations with modern neutrino and nuclear physics. We compare the early (first ∼500 ms after core bounce) spherically-symmetric evolution of a 20 M⊙ progenitor star from six different core-collapse supernovae codes: 3DnSNe-IDSA, AGILE-BOLTZTRAN, FLASH, Fornax, GR1D, and PROMETHEUS-VERTEX. Given the diversity of neutrino transport and hydrodynamic methods employed, we find excellent agreement in many critical quantities, including the shock radius evolution and the amount of neutrino heating. Our results provide an excellent starting point from which to extend this comparison to higher dimensions and compare the development of hydrodynamic instabilities that are crucial to the supernova explosion mechanism, such as turbulence and convection.

The Progenitor Dependence of Core-collapse Supernovae from Three-dimensional Simulations with Progenitor Models of 12–40 M⊙

Abstract We present a first study of the progenitor star dependence of the three-dimensional (3D) neutrino mechanism of core-collapse supernovae. We employ full 3D general-relativistic multi-group neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics and simulate the postbounce evolutions of progenitors with zero-age main sequence masses of 12, 15, 20, 27, and 40 M ⊙. All progenitors, with the exception of the 12 M ⊙ star, experience shock runaway by the end of their simulations. In most cases, a strongly asymmetric explosion will result. We find three qualitatively distinct evolutions that suggest a complex dependence of explosion dynamics on progenitor density structure, neutrino heating, and 3D flow. (1) Progenitors with massive cores, shallow density profiles, and high post-core-bounce accretion rates experience very strong neutrino heating and neutrino-driven turbulent convection, leading to early shock runaway. Accretion continues at a high rate, likely leading to black hole formation. (2) Intermediate progenitors experience neutrino-driven, turbulence-aided explosions triggered by the arrival of density discontinuities at the shock. These occur typically at the silicon/silicon–oxygen shell boundary. (3) Progenitors with small cores and density profiles without strong discontinuities experience shock recession and develop the 3D standing-accretion shock instability (SASI). Shock runaway ensues late, once declining accretion rate, SASI, and neutrino-driven convection create favorable conditions. These differences in explosion times and dynamics result in a non-monotonic relationship between progenitor and compact remnant mass.