Abstract
We have conducted a series of numerical experiments with the spherically-symmetric, general-relativistic neutrino radiation hydrodynamics code Agile-BOLTZTRAN to examine the effects of several approximations used in multidimensional core-collapse supernova simulations.
Our code permits us to examine the effects of these approximations quantitatively by removing, or substituting for, the pieces of supernova physics of interest.
These approximations include:
(1) using Newtonian versus general-relativistic gravity, hydrodynamics, and transport;
(2) using older weak interactions, including the omission of non-isoenergetic neutrino scattering, versus up-to-date weak interactions; and
(3) omitting the velocity-dependent terms, or observer corrections, from the neutrino Boltzmann kinetic equation.
We demonstrate that each of these changes has non-negligible effects on the outcomes of our simulations.
Finally, we discuss the impact these results have for current, and future, multidimensional models.
