A Global Turbulence Model for Neutrino-Driven Convection in Core-Collapse Supernovae

Understand

Simulations of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) result in successful explosions once the neutrino luminosity exceeds a critical curve, and recent simulations indicate that turbulence further enables explosion by reducing this critical neutrino luminosity.

• We propose a theoretical framework to derive this result and take the first steps by deriving the governing mean-field equations.
• Using Reynolds decomposition, we decompose flow variables into background and turbulent flows and derive self-consistent averaged equations for their evolution.
• As basic requirements for the CCSN problem, these equations naturally incorporate steady-state accretion, neutrino heating and cooling, non-zero entropy gradients, and turbulence terms associated with buoyant driving, redistribution, and dissipation.