Abstract

There are many interesting topics at the intersection of physics and astrophysics we call Supernova Theory. A small subset of them include the origin of pulsar kicks, gravitational radiation signatures of core bounce, and the possible roles of neutrinos and rotation in the mechanism of explosion. In this brief communication we summarize various recent ideas and calculations that bear on these themes.

What is the mechanism of pulsar kicks?

Radio pulsars are observed to have large proper motions that average ∼400–500 km s-1 (Lyne & Lorimer 1994) and whose velocity distribution might be bimodal (Fryer, Burrows, and Benz 1998; Arzomanian, Chernoff, & Cordes 2002). If bimodal, the slow peak would have a mean speed near ∼100 km s-1 and the fast peak would have a mean speed near 500–600 km s-1. A bimodal distribution implies different populations and different mechanisms, but what these populations could be remains highly speculative.

Many arguments suggest that pulsars are given “kicks” at birth (Lai 2000; Lai, Chernoff, and Cordes 2001), and are not accelerated over periods of years or centuries. The best explanation is that these kicks are imparted during the supernova explosion itself. We think that this view is compelling. The two suggested modes of acceleration and impulse are via net neutrino anisotropy during the neutrino emission phase (which lasts seconds) and anisotropic mass motions and aspherical explosion which impart momentum to the residual core.