Pulsar recoil by large-scale anisotropies in supernova explosions.

Assuming that the neutrino luminosity from the neutron star core is sufficiently high to drive supernova explosions by the neutrino-heating mechanism, we show that low-mode (l=1,2) convection can develop from random seed perturbations behind the shock. A slow onset of the explosion is crucial, requiring the core luminosity to vary slowly with time, in contrast to the burstlike exponential decay assumed in previous work. Gravitational and hydrodynamic forces by the globally asymmetric supernova ejecta were found to accelerate the remnant neutron star on a time scale of more than a second to velocities above 500 km s(-1), in agreement with observed pulsar proper motions.

Improved models of stellar core collapse and still no explosions: what is missing?

Two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of stellar core collapse are presented which for the first time were performed by solving the Boltzmann equation for the neutrino transport including a state-of-the-art description of neutrino interactions. Stellar rotation is also taken into account. Although convection develops below the neutrinosphere and in the neutrino-heated region behind the supernova shock, the models do not explode. This suggests missing physics, possibly with respect to the nuclear equation of state and weak interactions in the subnuclear regime. However, it might also indicate a fundamental problem with the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism.

Nucleosynthesis and Clump Formation in a Core-Collapse Supernova.

High-resolution two-dimensional simulations were performed for the first 5 minutes of the evolution of a core-collapse supernova explosion in a 15 M middle dot in circle blue supergiant progenitor. The computations start shortly after bounce and include neutrino-matter interactions by using a lightbulb approximation for the neutrinos and a treatment of the nucleosynthesis due to explosive silicon and oxygen burning. We find that newly formed iron-group elements are distributed throughout the inner half of the helium core by Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities at the (Ni + Si)/O and (C + O)/He interfaces, seeded by convective overturn during the early stages of the explosion. Fast-moving nickel mushrooms with velocities up to approximately 4000 km s-1 are observed. This offers a natural explanation for the mixing required in light-curve and spectral synthesis studies of Type Ib explosions. A continuation of the calculations to later times, however, indicates that the iron velocities observed in SN 1987A cannot be reproduced because of a strong deceleration of the clumps in the dense shell left behind by the shock at the He/H interface.