Open Issues in Core Collapse Supernova Theory


Book Description

Efforts to uncover the explosion mechanism of core collapse supernovae and to understand all of their associated phenomena have been ongoing for nearly four decades. Despite this, our theoretical understanding of these cosmic events remains limited; two- and three-dimensional modeling of these events is in its infancy. Most of the modeling efforts over the past four decades have, by necessity, been constrained to spherical symmetry, with the first two-dimensional, albeit simplified, models appearing only during the last decade. Simulations to understand the complex interplay between the turbulent stellar core fluid flow, its magnetic fields, the neutrinos produced in and emanating from the proto-neutron star, the stellar core rotation, and the strong gravitational fields have yet to be performed. Only subsets of these fundamental ingredients have been included in the models thus far, often with approximation. The purpose of this volume is to identify the outstanding issues that remain in order to come to a complete understanding of these important astrophysical events. As the book focuses on open issues rather than the current state of the art in the field OCo although the latter will certainly be discussed OCo it will remain relevant for some time."




Open Issues in Core Collapse Supernova Theory


Book Description

Efforts to uncover the explosion mechanism of core collapse supernovae and to understand all of their associated phenomena have been ongoing for nearly four decades. Despite this, our theoretical understanding of these cosmic events remains limited; two- and three-dimensional modeling of these events is in its infancy. Most of the modeling efforts over the past four decades have, by necessity, been constrained to spherical symmetry, with the first two-dimensional, albeit simplified, models appearing only during the last decade. Simulations to understand the complex interplay between the turbulent stellar core fluid flow, its magnetic fields, the neutrinos produced in and emanating from the proto-neutron star, the stellar core rotation, and the strong gravitational fields have yet to be performed. Only subsets of these fundamental ingredients have been included in the models thus far, often with approximation.The purpose of this volume is to identify the outstanding issues that remain in order to come to a complete understanding of these important astrophysical events. As the book focuses on open issues rather than the current state of the art in the field ? although the latter will certainly be discussed ? it will remain relevant for some time.




Stellar Collapse


Book Description

Supernovae, hypernovae and gamma-ray bursts are among the most energetic explosions in the universe. The light from these outbursts is, for a brief time, comparable to billions of stars and can outshine the host galaxy within which the explosions reside. Most of the heavy elements in the universe are formed within these energetic explosions. Surprisingly enough, the collapse of massive stars is the primary source of not just one, but all three of these explosions. As all of these explosions arise from stellar collapse, to understand one requires an understanding of the others. Stellar Collapse marks the first book to combine discussions of all three phenomena, focusing on the similarities and differences between them. Designed for graduate students and scientists newly entering this field, this book provides a review not only of these explosions, but the detailed physical models used to explain them from the numerical techniques used to model neutrino transport and gamma-ray transport to the detailed nuclear physics behind the evolution of the collapse to the observations that have led to these three classes of explosions.




Convection in Astrophysics (IAU S239)


Book Description

Convection is ubiquitous throughout the Universe, and during the last three decades it has become the largest factor of uncertainty in theoretical models of stars and in the interpretation of observations on the basis of such models. Recently, numerical simulations of convection have dramatically improved in their potential to take into account both the large scale properties of the flow itself and the microphysical properties of the fluid. Observations have become accurate enough to provide stringent tests for both numerical simulations and models of convection. IAU S239 was held to further understanding of convection, bringing together leading researchers in solar and stellar physics, the physics of planets, and of accretion disks. With reviews, research contributions, and detailed recordings of plenary discussions, this book is a valuable resource for professional astronomers and graduate students interested in the interdisciplinary study of one of the key physical processes in astrophysics.




Computational Methods in Transport


Book Description

Thereexistawiderangeofapplicationswhereasigni?cantfractionofthe- mentum and energy present in a physical problem is carried by the transport of particles. Depending on the speci?capplication, the particles involved may be photons, neutrons, neutrinos, or charged particles. Regardless of which phenomena is being described, at the heart of each application is the fact that a Boltzmann like transport equation has to be solved. The complexity, and hence expense, involved in solving the transport problem can be understood by realizing that the general solution to the 3D Boltzmann transport equation is in fact really seven dimensional: 3 spatial coordinates, 2 angles, 1 time, and 1 for speed or energy. Low-order appro- mations to the transport equation are frequently used due in part to physical justi?cation but many in cases, simply because a solution to the full tra- port problem is too computationally expensive. An example is the di?usion equation, which e?ectively drops the two angles in phase space by assuming that a linear representation in angle is adequate. Another approximation is the grey approximation, which drops the energy variable by averaging over it. If the grey approximation is applied to the di?usion equation, the expense of solving what amounts to the simplest possible description of transport is roughly equal to the cost of implicit computational ?uid dynamics. It is clear therefore, that for those application areas needing some form of transport, fast, accurate and robust transport algorithms can lead to an increase in overall code performance and a decrease in time to solution.




Rare Isotopes And Fundamental Symmetries - Proceedings Of The Fourth Argonne/int/msu/jina Frib Theory Workshop


Book Description

This book presents contributions from the Workshop on Rare Isotopes and Fundamental Symmetries, which was held on September 19-22, 2007, at the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington. The book is the fourth in a series dedicated to exploring the science important to the proposed Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). The topics covered by the contributions include Fermi beta decay, electron-neutrino correlations in nuclear beta decay: precision mass measurements, atomic parity violation, electric dipole moments, and hadronic parity violation and anapole moments.These topics highlight the recent work on the use of nuclei to understand the fundamental symmetries of nature. It presents current results as well as proposals for future experiments.




Opportunities With Exotic Beams - Proceedings Of The Third Anl/msu/jina/int Ria Workshop


Book Description

This volume explores, explains, and supports the case for an advanced exotic beam facility from a theoretical perspective. The US nuclear physics community and the US Department of Energy are committed to building such a facility. The topics covered constitute a survey of present activities in nuclear theory that will set the challenges for an advanced exotic-beam facility and provide the starting point for interpreting experiments that will be conducted there. The research programs described are all at the forefront of nuclear theory, and they include research on the detailed structures of the lightest nuclei, systematic descriptions of all observed nuclei, nuclear tests of fundamental symmetries of nature, the explosion mechanisms of supernovae, and astrophysical synthesis of the heavy elements, as well as several other topics.




Oxygen in the Solar System


Book Description

Volume 68 of Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry reviews Oxygen in the Solar System, an element that is so critically important in so many ways to planetary science. The book is based on three open workshops: Oxygen in the Terrestrial Planets, held in Santa Fe, NM July 20-23, 2004; Oxygen in Asteroids and Meteorites, held in Flagstaff, AZ June 2-3, 2005; and Oxygen in Earliest Solar System Materials and Processes (and including the outer planets and comets), held in Gatlinburg, TN September 19-22, 2005. As a consequence of the cross-cutting approach, the final book spans a wide range of fields relating to oxygen, from the stellar nucleosynthesis of oxygen, to its occurrence in the interstellar medium, to the oxidation and isotopic record preserved in 4.56 Ga grains formed at the Solar System's birth, to its abundance and speciation in planets large and small, to its role in the petrologic and physical evolution of the terrestrial planets. Contents: Introduction Oxygen isotopes in the early Solar System - A historical perspective Abundance, notation, and fractionation of light stable isotopes Nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution of oxygen Oxygen in the interstellar medium Oxygen in the Sun Redox conditions in the solar nebula: observational, experimental, and theoretical constraints Oxygen isotopes of chondritic components Mass-independent oxygen isotope variation in the solar nebula Oxygen and other volatiles in the giant planets and their satellites Oxygen in comets and interplanetary dust particles Oxygen and asteroids Oxygen isotopes in asteroidal materials Oxygen isotopic composition and chemical correlations in meteorites and the terrestrial planets Record of low-temperature alteration in asteroids The oxygen cycle of the terrestrial planets: insights into the processing and history of oxygen in surface environments Redox conditions on small bodies, the Moon and Mars Terrestrial oxygen isotope variations and their implications for planetary lithospheres Basalts as probes of planetary interior redox state Rheological consequences of redox state




Computational Methods in Transport: Verification and Validation


Book Description

The focus of this book deals with a cross cutting issue affecting all transport disciplines, whether it be photon, neutron, charged particle or neutrino transport. That is, verification and validation. In this book, we learn what the astrophysicist, atmospheric scientist, mathematician or nuclear engineer do to assess the accuracy of their code. What convergence studies, what error analysis, what problems do each field use to ascertain the accuracy of their transport simulations.




The Big Bang and Other Explosions in Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics


Book Description

This volume of important papers by one the world's leading astrophysicists provides a sweeping survey of the incisive and exciting applications of nuclear and particle physics to a wide range of problems in astrophysics and cosmology.The prime focus of the book is on Big Bang cosmology and the role of primordial nucleosynthesis in establishing the modern consensus on the Big Bang. This leads into the connection of cosmology to particle physics and the constraints put on various elementary particles by astrophysical arguments. Big Bang Nucleosynthesis has also led to the argument for nonbaryonic dark matter and is thus related to the major problem in physical cosmology today, namely, structure formation. The nuclear-particle interface with astrophysics also extends to the other topics of major interest such as the age of the universe, cosmic rays, supernovae, and solar neutrinos, each of which will be discussed in some detail. Each section contains historical papers, current papers, and frequently a popular article on the subject which provides an overview of the topic.This volume is testimony to the success of the integration of nuclear and particle physics with astrophysics and cosmology, and to the ingenuity of the work in this area which has earned the author numerous prestigious awards. The book, which is accessible to beginning graduate students, should be of particular interest to researchers and students in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology and gravitation, and also in high energy and nuclear physics.