Multidimensional Modelling of Magnetic Fields in Supernovae and Their Progenitors featuring Vishnu Varma (Keele, UK)

Core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) are some of the brightest, most energetic events in the universe. In order to model these phenomena accurately, we need to have a diverse range of physics such as neutrino transport and neutrino interactions, general-relativistic gravity, detailed equations of state (EoS) of dense matter, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and detailed progenitor models. The advent of powerful supercomputers and the development of numerical methods has allowed us to simulate these explosions in great detail, and in recent years, in full 3D geometry. However, aside from the modelling of rare hypernova progenitors (where rapid rotation and very strong magnetic fields are imposed), magnetic fields haven’t been explored extensively for the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism. 

In this seminar, I will focus primarily on the inclusion of magnetic fields in modelling these events. I will present the first multidimensional simulation of magnetic fields in the final phases of oxygen shell burning, which provides a first step in understanding what realistic magnetic field strengths and geometries should be in CCSNe progenitors. I will then explore some of the first 3D simulations of magnetic neutrino-driven supernovae, and explain how this inclusion can impact the dynamics of the supernova as well as their remnants.