The First Five Minutes of a Core Collapse Supernova: Multidimensional Hydrodynamic Models

Abstract

We present results of high-resolution two-dimensional simulations which follow the first five minutes of a core collapse supernova explosion in a 15 solar mass blue supergiant progenitor. The computations start shortly after core bounce and include neutrino-matter interactions by using a light-bulb 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 a significant fraction of the stellar helium core by the concerted action of convective and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities. Fast moving nickel mushrooms with velocities up to 4000 km/s are observed. A continuation of the calculations to later times, however, indicates, that the iron velocities observed in SN 1987 A cannot be reproduced due to a strong deceleration of the clumps during their interaction with the dense shell left behind by the shock at the He/H interface. Therefore, we cannot confirm the claim that convective "premixing" of the nickel in the early phases of the explosion solves the problem of the high iron velocities.