The mechanism for a core–collapse or type II supernova is a fundamental unresolved problem in astrophysics. Although there is general agreement on the outlines of the mechanism, a detailed model that includes microphysics self–consistently and leads to robust explosions having the observational characteristics of type II supernovae does not exist. Within the past five years supernova modeling has moved from earlier one–dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with approximate microphysics to multi–dimensional hydrodynamics on the one hand, and to much more detailed microphysics on the other. These simulations suggest that large–scale and rapid convective effects are common in the core during the first hundreds of milliseconds after core collapse, and may play a role in the mechanism. However, the most recent simulations indicate that the proper treatment of neutrinos is probably even more important than convective effects in producing successful explosions. In this series of lectures I will give a general overview of the core–collapse problem, and will discuss the role of convection and neutrino transport in the resolution of this problem.

Introduction

A type II supernova is one of the most spectacular events in nature, and is a likely source of the heavy elements that are produced in the rapid neutron capture or r–process. Considerable progress has been made over the past two decades in understanding the mechanisms responsible for such events.