Turbulent magnetic field amplification from spiral SASI modes in core-collapse supernovae

We describe the initial implementation of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in our astrophysical simulation code \genasis. Then, we present MHD simulations exploring the capacity of the stationary accretion shock instability (SASI) to generate magnetic fields by adding a weak magnetic field to an initially spherically symmetric fluid configuration that models a stalled shock in the post-bounce supernova environment. Upon perturbation and nonlinear SASI development, shear flows associated with the spiral SASI mode contributes to a widespread and turbulent field amplification mechanism. While the SASI may contribute to neutron star magnetization, these simulations do not show qualitatively new features in the global evolution of the shock as a result of SASI-induced magnetic field amplification.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, To appear in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Proceedings of the IUPAP Conference on Computational Physics (CCP2011

The saturation of SASI by parasitic instabilities

The Standing Accretion Shock Instability (SASI) is commonly believed to be responsible for large amplitude dipolar oscillations of the stalled shock during core collapse, potentially leading to an asymmetric supernovae explosion. The degree of asymmetry depends on the amplitude of SASI, which nonlinear saturation mechanism has never been elucidated. We investigate the role of parasitic instabilities as a possible cause of nonlinear SASI saturation. As the shock oscillations create both vorticity and entropy gradients, we show that both Kelvin-Helmholtz and Rayleigh-Taylor types of instabilities are able to grow on a SASI mode if its amplitude is large enough. We obtain simple estimates of their growth rates, taking into account the effects of advection and entropy stratification. In the context of the advective-acoustic cycle, we use numerical simulations to demonstrate how the acoustic feedback can be decreased if a parasitic instability distorts the advected structure. The amplitude of the shock deformation is estimated analytically in this scenario. When applied to the set up of Fernandez & Thompson (2009a), this saturation mechanism is able to explain the dramatic decrease of the SASI power when both the nuclear dissociation energy and the cooling rate are varied. Our results open new perspectives for anticipating the effect, on the SASI amplitude, of the physical ingredients involved in the modeling of the collapsing star.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Minor changes following the referee report

New Two-Dimensional Models of Supernova Explosions by the Neutrino-Heating Mechanism: Evidence for Different Instability Regimes in Collapsing Stellar Cores

The neutrino-driven explosion mechanism for core-collapse supernovae in its modern flavor relies on the additional support of hydrodynamical instabilities in achieving shock revival. Two possible candidates, convection and the so-called standing accretion shock instability (SASI), have been proposed for this role. In this paper, we discuss new successful simulations of supernova explosions that shed light on the relative importance of these two instabilities. While convection has so far been observed to grow first in self-consistent hydrodynamical models with multi-group neutrino transport, we here present the first such simulation in which the SASI grows faster while the development of convection is initially inhibited. We illustrate the features of this SASI-dominated regime using an explosion model of a 27 solar mass progenitor, which is contrasted with a convectively-dominated model of an 8.1 solar mass progenitor with subsolar metallicity, whose early post-bounce behavior is more in line with previous 11.2 and 15 solar mass explosion models. We analyze the conditions discriminating between the two different regimes, showing that a high mass-accretion rate and a short advection time-scale are conducive for strong SASI activity. We also briefly discuss some important factors for capturing the SASI-driven regime, such as general relativity, the progenitor structure, a nuclear equation of state leading to a compact proto-neutron star, and the neutrino treatment. Finally, we evaluate possible implications of our findings for 2D and 3D supernova simulations. Our results show that a better understanding of the SASI and convection in the non-linear regime is required.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures; revised version accepted for publication in Ap

New insights on the spin-up of a neutron star during core-collapse

The spin of a neutron star at birth may be impacted by the asymmetric character of the explosion of its massive progenitor. During the first second after bounce, the spiral mode of the Standing Accretion Shock Instability (SASI) is able to redistribute angular momentum and spin-up a neutron star born from a non-rotating progenitor. Our aim is to assess the robustness of this process. We perform 2D numerical simulations of a simplified setup in cylindrical geometry to investigate the timescale over which the dynamics is dominated by a spiral or a sloshing mode. We observe that the spiral mode prevails only if the ratio of the initial shock radius to the neutron star radius exceeds a critical value. In that regime, both the degree of asymmetry and the average expansion of the shock induced by the spiral mode increase monotonously with this ratio, exceeding the values obtained when a sloshing mode is artificially imposed. With a timescale of 2-3 SASI oscillations, the dynamics of SASI takes place fast enough to affect the spin of the neutron star before the explosion. The spin periods deduced from the simulations are compared favorably to analytical estimates evaluated from the measured saturation amplitude of the SASI wave. Despite the simplicity of our setup, numerical simulations revealed unexpected stochastic variations, including a reversal of the direction of rotation of the shock. Our results show that the spin up of neutron stars by SASI spiral modes is a viable mechanism even though it is not systematic.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication MNRAS. Minor changes following the referee repor

A New Gravitational-Wave Signature from Standing Accretion Shock Instabilities in Supernovae

We present results from fully relativistic three-dimensional core-collapse supernova (CCSN) simulations of a non-rotating 15 Msun star using three different nuclear equations of state (EoSs). From our simulations covering up to ~350 ms after bounce, we show that the development of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI) differs significantly depending on the stiffness of nuclear EoS. Generally, the SASI activity occurs more vigorously in models with softer EoS. By evaluating the gravitational-wave (GW) emission, we find a new GW signature on top of the previously identified one, in which the typical GW frequency increases with time due to an accumulating accretion to the proto-neutron star (PNS). The newly observed quasi-periodic signal appears in the frequency range from ~100 to 200 Hz and persists for ~150 ms before neutrino-driven convection dominates over the SASI. By analyzing the cycle frequency of the SASI sloshing and spiral modes as well as the mass accretion rate to the emission region, we show that the SASI frequency is correlated with the GW frequency. This is because the SASI-induced temporary perturbed mass accretion strike the PNS surface, leading to the quasi-periodic GW emission. Our results show that the GW signal, which could be a smoking-gun signature of the SASI, is within the detection limits of LIGO, advanced Virgo, and KAGRA for Galactic events.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ

Equation-of-State Dependent Features in Shock-Oscillation Modulated Neutrino and Gravitational-Wave Signals from Supernovae

We present 2D hydrodynamic simulations of the long-time accretion phase of a 15 solar mass star after core bounce and before the launch of a supernova explosion. Our simulations are performed with the Prometheus-Vertex code, employing multi-flavor, energy-dependent neutrino transport and an effective relativistic gravitational potential. Testing the influence of a stiff and a soft equation of state for hot neutron star matter, we find that the non-radial mass motions in the supernova core due to the standing accretion shock instability (SASI) and convection impose a time variability on the neutrino and gravitational-wave signals. These variations have larger amplitudes as well as higher frequencies in the case of a more compact nascent neutron star. After the prompt shock-breakout burst of electron neutrinos, a more compact accreting remnant radiates neutrinos with higher luminosities and larger mean energies. The observable neutrino emission in the direction of SASI shock oscillations exhibits a modulation of several 10% in the luminosities and ~1 MeV in the mean energies with most power at typical SASI frequencies of 20-100 Hz. At times later than 50-100 ms after bounce the gravitational-wave amplitude is dominated by the growing low-frequency (<200 Hz) signal associated with anisotropic neutrino emission. A high-frequency wave signal is caused by nonradial gas flows in the outer neutron star layers, which are stirred by anisotropic accretion from the SASI and convective regions. The gravitational-wave power then peaks at about 300-800 Hz with distinctively higher spectral frequencies originating from the more compact and more rapidly contracting neutron star. The detectability of the SASI effects in the neutrino and gravitational-wave signals is briefly discussed. (abridged)Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 45 eps files; revised version including discussion of signal detectability; accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; high-resolution images can be obtained upon reques

Turbulent Magnetic Field Amplification from Spiral SASI Modes: Implications for Core-Collapse Supernovae and Proto-Neutron Star Magnetization

We extend our investigation of magnetic field evolution in three-dimensional flows driven by the stationary accretion shock instability (SASI) with a suite of higher-resolution idealized models of the post-bounce core-collapse supernova environment. Our magnetohydrodynamic simulations vary in initial magnetic field strength, rotation rate, and grid resolution. Vigorous SASI-driven turbulence inside the shock amplifies magnetic fields exponentially; but while the amplified fields reduce the kinetic energy of small-scale flows, they do not seem to affect the global shock dynamics. The growth rate and final magnitude of the magnetic energy are very sensitive to grid resolution, and both are underestimated by the simulations. Nevertheless our simulations suggest that neutron star magnetic fields exceeding $10^{14}$ G can result from dynamics driven by the SASI, \emph{even for non-rotating progenitors}.Comment: 28 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in the Ap

Multidimensional supernova simulations with approximative neutrino transport. II. Convection and the advective-acoustic cycle in the supernova core

By 2D hydrodynamic simulations including a detailed equation of state and neutrino transport, we investigate the interplay between different non-radial hydrodynamic instabilities that play a role during the postbounce accretion phase of collapsing stellar cores. The convective mode of instability, which is driven by negative entropy gradients caused by neutrino heating or by time variations of the shock strength, can be identified clearly by the development of typical Rayleigh-Taylor mushrooms. However, in cases where the gas in the postshock region is rapidly advected towards the gain radius, the growth of such a buoyancy instability can be suppressed. In such a situation the shocked flow nevertheless can develop non-radial asymmetry with an oscillatory growth of the amplitude. This phenomenon has been termed ``standing accretion shock instability'' (SASI). It is shown here that the SASI oscillations can trigger convective instability and like the latter they lead to an increase of the average shock radius and of the mass in the gain layer. Both hydrodynamic instabilities in combination stretch the advection time of matter through the neutrino-heating layer and thus enhance the neutrino energy deposition in support of the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism. A rapidly contracting and more compact nascent NS turns out to be favorable for explosions, because the accretion luminosity and neutrino heating are larger and the growth rate of the SASI is higher. Moreover, we show that the oscillation period of the SASI and a variety of other features in our simulations agree with estimates for the advective-acoustic cycle (AAC), in which perturbations are carried by the accretion flow from the shock to the neutron star and pressure waves close an amplifying global feedback loop. (abridged)Comment: 23 pages, 20 figures; revised version with extended Sect.5, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics; high-resolution images can be obtained upon reques

Correlated Signatures of Gravitational-Wave and Neutrino Emission in Three-Dimensional General-Relativistic Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations

We present results from general-relativistic (GR) three-dimensional (3D) core-collapse simulations with approximate neutrino transport for three non-rotating progenitors (11.2, 15, and 40 Msun) using different nuclear equations of state (EOSs). We find that the combination of progenitor's higher compactness at bounce and the use of softer EOS leads to stronger activity of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI). We confirm previous predications that the SASI produces characteristic time modulations both in neutrino and gravitational-wave (GW) signals. By performing a correlation analysis of the SASI-modulated neutrino and GW signals, we find that the correlation becomes highest when we take into account the time-delay effect due to the advection of material from the neutrino sphere to the proto-neutron star core surface. Our results suggest that the correlation of the neutrino and GW signals, if detected, would provide a new signature of the vigorous SASI activity in the supernova core, which can be hardly seen if neutrino-convection dominates over the SASI.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap