The Impact of Improved Weak Interaction Physics in Core-Collapse Supernova Simulations

Recent core-collapse supernova simulations incorporating Boltzmann neutrino transport have highlighted the need for an improved set of "standard" microphysics to be employed in such simulations. Improved electron capture rates on nuclei, the inclusion of nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, and the effects of weak magnetism and the strangeness content of the nucleon are examples of such improvements. We discuss the initial implementation of these updates in fully self-consistent radiation hydrodynamic core-collapse supernova simulations incorporating Boltzmann neutrino transport.