New Insights into Core–Collapse Supernova Theory

Though it is agreed that the post–bounce, pre–explosion cores of massive stars are unstable to transonic, Rayleigh–Taylor–like instabilities, the role convective motions may play in igniting the supernova explosion itself is not yet clear. Whatever that role, the morphology and nucleosynthetic yields of the explosion, the recoil of the protoneutron star, the spatial distribution of fresh Ni, and the gravitational wave and neutrino signatures of the event will be affected in interesting ways. I review a subset of the issues raised by the new paradigm and some of the technical obstacles that remain. I focus on neutrino transfer, the role of progenitor structure, kick mechanisms, and the location and potential consequence of various hydrodynamic instabilities.