Towards Realistic Modeling of Core-Collapse Supernovae

Bronson Messer (Oak Ridge National Lab)

Colgate and White (1966) were the first to propose that core-collapse supernovae may be neutrino-driven and per formed the first numerical simulations of such events, launching more than four decades of research that continues to this day. In the time since, many authors have explored the impact of moving beyond the spherically-symmetric assumptions of Colgate & White (cf. Nordhaus et al. 2011) by performing simulations in 2 and 3 dimensions. Neutrino transport and spatial dimensionality continue to be among the primary limitations on physical fidelity in core-collapse supernova simulations, even on today's petascale platforms. We have recently conducted a series of numerical experiments to examine the effects of several approximations used in multidimensional core-collapse supernova simulations. I will describe some of the results of these studies, including what approximations seem unrealistic and which are required for any future simulations if they hope to be definitive in any sense.