MacKenzie Warren

Moving Supernovae Beyond the Standard model: A Study of Neutrino Flavor Mixing in Core-Collapse Supernovae
Contact information:
Fellowship status:
Starting year: 2018
Fellowship institution: Michigan State University/North Carolina State University
Research Interests:

It is well understood that core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) result from the deaths of stars with masses M>8M⊙. Yet the explosion mechanism of CCSNe has remained one of the biggest open questions in astrophysics. With increasing computational power, simulations of the CCSN mechanism have increased in physical fidelity, now including realistic equations of state, general relativity, and neutrino transport, but also increased in computational precision with 3D simulations and increasing resolution. However, there is a fundamental piece of physics that remains missing from most supernova codes: neutrino flavor mixing. As an NSF Fellow, I am including the effects of neutrino flavor mixing in the FLASH supernova code. Neutrino flavor mixing may drastically change predictions of the supernova neutrino spectrum and thus the observable outcomes of CCSNe. I will produce the first simulations of CCSNe including neutrino oscillations and generate predictions of the impact of neutrino mixing on explodability, neutrino signal, and nucleosynthesis.

Education and Outreach Interests:

As part of the AAPF, I work with the Popscope astronomy outreach program. Rather than hosting public astronomy nights at academic or educational institutions, Popscope takes telescopes to public events and public spaces and draws in people passing by. This reaches communities that would not otherwise be engaged. Current research indicates that many informal science education efforts are not inclusive of low-income and minority ethnic groups, despite current efforts to increase diversity in STEM. I am creating a Lansing Popscope chapter with the aim of reaching communities that are underrepresented in STEM fields and unengaged by most science outreach efforts.