Neutrino Transport during the Core Bounce Phase of a Type II Supernova Explosion

A Monte Carlo study of neutrino transport in the vicinity of the outward-moving core bounce shock of a Type II SN is discussed. The method takes into account energy gains and losses produced by first-order Fermi shock acceleration and inelastic collisions with nuclei and electrons. Sources of neutrino opacity considered include scattering off electrons, nucleons, and nuclei, the absorption of electron neutrinos, and neutrino pair annihilation. Previous SN models have been used to determine the time-integrated energy spectra of the three neutrino flavors in order to determine the conditions in the star's collapsing core.