Seminarium Fizyki Politechniki Wrocławskiej
PWr, bud. A1, sala 322
Supernova Explosions of Massive Stars: Connecting Models and Observations in 3D
Prof. Hans-Thomas Janka
Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching
The lives of massive stars are terminated by a final catastrophic collapse to a neutron star or black hole. Both can be accompanied by a supernova explosion.
These events play a crucial role in the dynamical evolution of galaxies and their enrichment with chemical elements, as cosmic laboratories for particle and nuclear physics, and as sources of electromagnetic radiation, neutrinos, and gravitational waves, including those currently measured from colliding compact objects in binaries. Modern supercomputer simulations in three dimensions support the long-standing paradigm that energy transfer by neutrinos drives the far majority of supernova explosions. These models begin to yield explanations for many observed phenomena, but they also still struggle with unsolved problems.
The talk will introduce the basic theory, describe the forefront of current research, and highlight some topics where supernova theory is linked to astronomy, particle physics, and nuclear physics.
