A Force Explosion Condition for Spherically Symmetric Core-collapse Supernovae

Understand

Understanding which stars explode leaving behind neutron stars and which stars collapse forming black holes remains a fundamental astrophysical problem.

• We derive an analytic explosion condition for spherically symmetric core-collapse supernovae.
• The derivation starts with the exact governing equations, considers the balance of integral forces, includes the important dimensionless parameters, and includes an explicit set of self-consistent approximations.
• The force explosion condition is $\tilde{L}_\nu\tau_g - 0.06 \tilde{\kappa} > 0.38$, and only depends upon two dimensionless parameters.