A new multidimensional, energy-dependent two-moment transport code for neutrino-hydrodynamics

Abstract

We present the new code ALCAR developed to model multidimensional, multienergy-group neutrino transport in the context of supernovae and neutron-star mergers. The algorithm solves the evolution equations of the zeroth- and first-order angular moments of the specific intensity, supplemented by an algebraic relation for the second-moment tensor to close the system. The scheme takes into account frame-dependent effects of the order O(v/c) as well as the most important types of neutrino interactions. The transport scheme is significantly more efficient than a multidimensional solver of the Boltzmann equation, while it is more accurate and consistent than the flux-limited diffusion method. The finite-volume discretization of the essentially hyperbolic system of moment equations employs methods well-known from hydrodynamics. For the time integration of the potentially stiff moment equations we employ a scheme in which only the local source terms are treated implicitly, while the advection terms are kept explicit, thereby allowing for an efficient computational parallelization of the algorithm. We investigate various problem set-ups in one and two dimensions to verify the implementation and to test the quality of the algebraic closure scheme. In our most detailed test, we compare a fully dynamic, one-dimensional core-collapse simulation with two published calculations performed with well-known Boltzmann-type neutrino-hydrodynamics codes and we find very satisfactory agreement.