On the Requirements for Realistic Modeling of Neutrino Transport in Simulations of Core-collapse Supernovae

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.