Bruenn, Steven AST 96-18423 Dr. Bruenn's research program addresses several outstanding issues in the theoretical modeling of core collapse and explosion of supernovae. The collapse of the cores of massive stars is thought to lead to the supernovae explosion through the release and transport of energy through neutrinos and their influence on the propagation of shocks. Dr. Bruenn's research plan has three objectives : 1) to carry out a detailed, semi-analytical study of fluid instabilities in the neutrino- dominated region that controls the behavior of the shock in post-collapse supernovae, 2) to perform 2- and 3-dimensional hydrodynamic calculations of the shock, with particular attention to modeling the neutrino transport, and 3) to explore a new explosion mechanism for core collapse supernovae, which results from strong magnetic fields reducing neutrino opacities and increasing heating behind the shock. Each aspect of this research plan builds on previous efforts by the PI and collaborators in improving semi-analytical descriptions and the implementation of numerical simulations modeling the microphysics of the explosion mechanism. ***
