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J. M. Blondin (NCSU ), A. Mezzacappa (ORNL)
We examine the stability of the stalled shock wave in core-collapse supernovae using an idealized model of a standing accretion shock. We show that although this model is stable to radial perturbations, non-radial modes can grow due to a feedback between turbulence in the postshock gas and the nominally spherical shock front. Any deviation from a spherical shock leads to the injection of non-radial flow below the shock, which drives turbulent flow at small radii. This turbulence generates pressure waves that travel outwards and further perturb the spherical shock font. This feedback leads to vigorous turbulence even though the postshock entropy gradient is marginally stable to convection, demonstrating that the origin of the three-dimensional flow in a core collapse supernova is not due to convection alone. These results have implications for future two- and three-dimensional supernova models.
This research is part of the Terascale Supernova Initiative funded by the SciDAC program.