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[10.13] The Inherent Asymmetry of Core-Collapse Supernovae

J. M. Blondin (North Carolina State University), A. Mezzacappa (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Even under idealized conditions of spherical infall, the shock wave generated in the canonical core-collapse model for Type II supernovae does not remain spherical. We examine the inherent asymmetry 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. The result is an expanding, aspherical blastwave with postshock flow dominated by low-order modes. We present two- and three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of this standing accretion shock model that illustrate the dynamical effects of the postshock turbulence.

This research is part of the Terascale Supernova Initiative funded by DOE's SciDAC program.

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#2
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.