Proto-Neutron Star Winds: Supernova Diversity, Magnetars, and Heavy Element Nucleosynthesis

The mechanism of the explosion of massive stars remains uncertain. I will discuss aspects of the critical condition for explosion, the observed supernova diversity, and the connection to gamma-ray bursts and super-luminous supernovae. I will focus on the first few seconds after explosion, during the "proto-neutron star" cooling epoch, when a wind driven by neutrino heating emerges from the cooling neutron star into the overlying massive stellar progenitor, powering the explosion. I will describe the physics of proto-neutron star winds, their heavy element nucleosynthesis, and our new work in assessing the role of rotation and magnetic fields in powering GRBs and energetic supernovae, and in generating the r-process nuclei.

https://www.ias.edu/sns/astrophysics/joint-iaspu-astrophysics-colloquium