Basic characteristics of neutrino flavor conversions in the post-shock regions of core-collapse supernova

Understand

One of the active debates in core-collapse supernova (CCSN) theory is how significantly neutrino flavor conversions induced by neutrino-neutrino self-interactions change the conventional picture of CCSN dynamics.

• Recent studies have indicated that strong flavor conversions can occur inside neutrino spheres where neutrinos are tightly coupled to matter.
• These flavor conversions are associated with either collisional instability or fast neutrino-flavor conversion (FFC) or both.
• The impact of these flavor conversions on CCSN dynamics is, however, still highly uncertain due to the lack of global simulations of quantum kinetic neutrino transport with appropriate microphysical inputs.