Protomagnetar and black hole formation in high-mass stars

Understand

Using axisymmetric simulations coupling special relativistic MHD, an approximate post-Newtonian gravitational potential and two-moment neutrino transport, we show different paths for the formation of either protomagnetars or stellar mass black holes.

• The fraction of prototypical stellar cores which should result in collapsars depends on a combination of several factors, among which the structure of the progenitor star and the profile of specific angular momentum are probably the foremost.
• Along with the implosion of the stellar core, we also obtain supernova-like explosions driven by neutrino heating and hydrodynamic instabilities or by magneto-rotational effects in cores of high-mass stars.
• In the latter case, highly collimated, mildly relativistic outflows are generated.