Efficient approximations of neutrino physics for three-dimensional simulations of stellar core collapse

Abstract

Neutrino transport in spherically symmetric models of stellar core collapse and bounce has achieved a technically complete level, rewarded by the agreement among independent groups that a multi-dimensional treatment of the fluid-instabilities in the post-bounce phase is indispensable to model supernova explosions. While much effort is required to develop a reliable neutrino transport technique in axisymmetry, we explore neutrino physics approximations and parameterizations for an efficient three-dimensional simulation of the fluid-instabilities in the shock-heated matter that accumulates between the accretion shock and the protoneutron star. We demonstrate the reliability of a simple parameterization scheme in the collapse phase and extend our 3D magneto-hydrodynamical collapse simulations to a preliminary postbounce evolution. The growth of magnetic fields is investigated.