A Brief History of the Co-evolution of Supernova Theory with Neutrino Physics

Understand

The histories of core-collapse supernova theory and of neutrino physics have paralleled one another for more than seventy years.

• Almost every development in neutrino physics necessitated modifications in supernova models.
• What has emerged is a complex and rich dynamical scenario for stellar death that is being progressively better tested by increasingly sophisiticated computer simulations.
• Though there is still much to learn about the agency and details of supernova explosions, whatever final theory emerges will have the neutrino at its core.