General Relativity and Neutrino-driven Supernova Winds

To date, detailed core-collapse supernova simulations have not succeeded in elucidating the explosion mechanism. But whatever the mechanism turns out to be, there will be a neutrino-heated outflow between the hot, newly-born neutron star and the outgoing supernova shock wave whose neutron richness, low density, and high temperature could provide promising conditions for the synthesis of heavy nuclei via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). General relativistic effects improve the prospects for this outflow as an r-process site. Among relativistic effects, the enhanced “gravitational potential” is more important than the gravitational redshift or trajectory bending of neutrinos.