Spectral synthesis of multidimensional supernova explosion models

ended

Core-collapse supernovae are the explosive deaths of massive stars. They are the main production sites of the heavy elements in the Universe, drive galactic dynamic and chemical evolution, and produce exotic remnants such as black holes and neutron stars. To interpret observations and advance our understanding of the origin of the elements, sophisticated spectral models are needed. The main science objective in this proposal is to compute the first spectral models of multi-dimensional core-collapse explosion simulations. These models will then be compared with available high-quality data to derive information on nucleosynthesis yields and supernova structure. The proposed work involves the development of spectral modelling tools from current 1D to multi-D capability, and application of these to recently computed state-of-the-art 3D explosion simulations. This innovative project will allow a milestone in supernova research to be reached by producing the first light curves and spectra of modern 3D simulations, and will approach us to solving an almost 50 year standing mystery of how supernovae explode and how the elements are produced.