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A. Wongwathanarat

Publications and source records attributed to A. Wongwathanarat.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

3D insights into SN 1987A: ALMA observations compared to hydrodynamical explosion simulations

We obtain three-dimensional distributions of CO and SiO molecules from high spatial resolution (0.03--0.06") ALMA observations of SN 1987A at two different epochs. The evolution between these two epochs is consistent with homologous expansion. From these 3D maps, we reconstruct the 3D mass distributions of the ejecta in CO and SiO molecules, which we compare with those obtained by state-of-the-art, long-time hydrodynamical supernova explosion models computed with the Prometheus-HotB code for 10 different progenitors, including both red and blue supergiants. The models which best match the mass distributions correspond to explosions of binary-merger blue supergiant progenitors; at least two such models approximately reproduce the observed CO morphology. In contrast, the SiO velocity distribution and morphology are not as well reproduced in these models, indicating insufficient mixing of Si into the outer layers already at the progenitor stage. The theoretical models suggest a strong correlation between the centre of mass of the densest carbon- and oxygen-rich ejecta and the direction of the neutron-star kick. If such a correlation also applies to the CO emission in the ejecta of SN 1987A, the kick of the compact remnant is expected to point towards the observer, at an angle of approximately $45^\circ$ to the north.

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Origin of holes and rings in the Green Monster of Cassiopeia A: Insights from 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations

[Abridged] Cassiopeia A (Cas A) provides a unique opportunity to study supernova (SN) dynamics and interactions with the circumstellar medium (CSM). Recent JWST observations revealed the "Green Monster" (GM), a structure with a likely CSM origin. We investigate its pockmarked morphology, characterized by circular holes and rings, by examining the role of small-scale ejecta structures interacting with a dense circumstellar shell. We adopted a neutrino-driven SN model to trace the evolution of its explosion from core collapse to the age of the Cas A remnant using high-resolution 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Besides other processes, the simulations include self-consistent calculations of radiative losses, accounting for deviations from electron-proton temperature equilibration and ionization equilibrium, as well as the ejecta composition derived from the SN. The GM's morphology is reproduced by dense ejecta clumps and fingers interacting with an asymmetric, forward-shocked circumstellar shell. The clumps and fingers form by hydrodynamic instabilities growing at the interface between SN ejecta and shocked CSM. Radiative cooling accounting for effects of non-equilibrium of ionization enhances the ejecta fragmentation, forming dense knots and thin filamentary structures that penetrate the shell, producing a network of holes and rings with properties similar to those observed. The origin of the holes and rings in the GM can be attributed to the interaction of ejecta with a shocked circumstellar shell. By constraining the timing of this interaction and analyzing the properties of these structures, we provide a distinction of this scenario from an alternative hypothesis, which attributes these features to fast-moving ejecta knots penetrating the shell ahead of the forward shock.

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Filamentary Ejecta Network in Cassiopeia~A Reveals Fingerprints of the Supernova Explosion Mechanism

[Abridged] Recent JWST observations have revealed an intricate filamentary network of unshocked ejecta in the young supernova remnant (SNR) Cassiopeia A (Cas A), offering new insights into supernova (SN) explosions and ejecta evolution. We investigate the origin and evolution of this structure by (i) characterizing its 3D morphology and kinematics and (ii) identifying the physical mechanisms driving its formation. Using high-resolution hydrodynamic (HD) and magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, we model the evolution of a neutrino-driven SN from explosion to a remnant age of 1000 years. The initial conditions, set just after shock breakout, are based on a 3D neutrino-driven SN model matching Cas A's basic properties. We find that magnetic fields have little impact on unshocked ejecta evolution, so we focus on HD simulations. A web-like filamentary structure, consistent with JWST observations (down to $\sim 0.01$ pc), naturally forms during the explosion. These filaments arise from early post-collapse processes, including neutrino-heated bubble expansion, hydrodynamic instabilities during blast propagation, and the Ni-bubble effect after shock breakout. The reverse shock later disrupts the filaments via hydrodynamic instabilities, rendering them unobservable by $\sim 700$ years. Our models suggest that JWST-detected filaments in Cas A preserve a 'memory' of early explosion conditions, tracing processes active during and immediately after the SN event. Notably, a filamentary network akin to Cas A's emerges naturally from a neutrino-driven SN explosion.

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Unveiling the Physics of Core-Collapse Supernovae with the Line Emission Mapper: Observing Cassiopeia A

(Abridged) Core-collapse supernova remnants (SNRs) display complex morphologies and asymmetries, reflecting anisotropies from the explosion and early interactions with the circumstellar medium (CSM). Spectral analysis of these remnants can provide critical insights into supernova (SN) engine dynamics, the nature of progenitor stars, and the final stages of stellar evolution, including mass-loss mechanisms in the millennia leading up to the SN. This white paper evaluates the potential of the Line Emission Mapper (LEM), an advanced X-ray probe concept proposed in response to NASA 2023 APEX call, to deliver high-resolution spectra of SNRs. Such capabilities would allow detailed analysis of parent SNe and progenitor stars, currently beyond our possibilities. We employed a hydrodynamic model that simulates the evolution of a neutrino-driven SN from core-collapse to a 2000-year-old mature remnant. This model successfully replicates the large-scale properties of Cassiopeia A at an age of about 350 years. Using this model, we synthesized mock LEM spectra from different regions of the SNR, considering factors like line shifts and broadening due to plasma bulk motion and thermal ion motion, deviations from ionization and temperature equilibrium, and interstellar medium absorption. Analyzing these mock spectra with standard tools revealed LEM impressive capabilities. We demonstrated that fitting these spectra with plasma models accurately recovers the line-of-sight velocity of the ejecta, enabling 3D structure exploration of shocked ejecta, similar to optical methods. LEM also distinguishes between Doppler and thermal broadening of ion lines and measures ion temperatures near the limb of SNRs, providing insights into ion heating at shock fronts and cooling in post-shock flows. This study highlights LEM potential to advance our understanding of core-collapse SN dynamics and related processes.

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Evidence for past interaction with an asymmetric circumstellar shell in the young SNR Cassiopeia A

Observations of the SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) show asymmetries in the reverse shock that cannot be explained by models describing a remnant expanding through a spherically symmetric wind of the progenitor star. We investigate whether a past interaction of Cas A with an asymmetric circumstellar shell can account for the observed asymmetries. We performed 3D MHD simulations that describe the remnant evolution from the SN to its interaction with a circumstellar shell. The initial conditions are provided by a 3D neutrino-driven SN model whose morphology resembles Cas A. We explored the parameter space of the shell, searching for a set of parameters able to produce reverse shock asymmetries at the age of 350 years analogous to those observed in Cas A. The interaction of the remnant with the shell can produce asymmetries resembling those observed in the reverse shock if the shell was asymmetric with the densest portion in the nearside to the northwest (NW). The reverse shock shows the following asymmetries at the age of Cas A: i) it moves inward in the observer frame in the NW region, while it moves outward in other regions; ii) the geometric center of the reverse shock is offset to the NW from the geometric center of the forward shock; iii) the reverse shock in the NW region has enhanced nonthermal emission because, there, the ejecta enter the reverse shock with a higher velocity (between 4000 and 7000 km/s) than in other regions (below 2000 km/s). The asymmetries observed in the reverse shock of Cas A can be interpreted as signatures of the interaction of the remnant with an asymmetric circumstellar shell that occurred between 180 and 240 years after the SN event. We suggest that the shell was, most likely, the result of a massive eruption from the progenitor star that occurred between $10^4$ and $10^5$ years prior to core-collapse. We estimate a total mass of the shell of the order 2 Msun.

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Supernova 1987A: 3D Mixing and light curves for explosion models based on binary-merger progenitors

Six binary-merger progenitors of Supernova 1987A (SN 1987A) with properties close to those of the blue supergiant Sanduleak -69 202 are exploded by neutrino heating and evolved until long after shock breakout in three dimensions (3D), and continued for light-curve calculations in spherical symmetry. Our results confirm previous findings for single-star progenitors: (1) 3D neutrino-driven explosions with SN 1987A-like energies synthesize Ni-56 masses consistent with the radioactive light-curve tail; (2) hydrodynamic models mix hydrogen inward to minimum velocities below 40 km/s compatible with spectral observations of SN 1987A; and (3) for given explosion energy the efficiency of outward radioactive Ni-56 mixing depends mainly on high growth factors of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities at the (C+O)/He and He/H composition interfaces and a weak interaction of fast plumes with the reverse shock occurring below the He/H interface. All binary-merger models possess presupernova radii matching the photometric radius of Sanduleak -69 202 and a structure of the outer layers allowing them to reproduce the observed initial luminosity peak in the first about 7 days. Models that mix about 0.5 Msun of hydrogen into the He-shell and exhibit strong outward mixing of Ni-56 with maximum velocities exceeding the 3000 km/s observed for the bulk of ejected Ni-56 have light-curve shapes in good agreement with the dome of the SN 1987A light curve. A comparative analysis of the best representatives of our 3D neutrino-driven explosion models of SN 1987A based on single-star and binary-merger progenitors reveals that only one binary model fulfills all observational constraints, except one.

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Linking core-collapse supernova explosions to supernova remnants through 3D MHD modeling

The structure and morphology of supernova remnants (SNRs) reflect the properties of the parent supernovae (SNe) and the characteristics of the inhomogeneous environments through which the remnants expand. Linking the morphology of SNRs to anisotropies developed in their parent SNe can be essential to obtain key information on many aspects of the explosion processes associated with SNe. Nowadays, our capability to study the SN-SNR connection has been largely improved thanks to multi-dimensional models describing the long-term evolution from the SN to the SNR as well as to observational data of growing quality and quantity across the electromagnetic spectrum which allow to constrain the models. Here we used the numerical resources obtained in the framework of the "Accordo Quadro INAF-CINECA (2017)" together with a CINECA ISCRA Award N.HP10BARP6Y to describe the full evolution of a SNR from the core-collapse to the full-fledged SNR at the age of 2000 years. Our simulations were compared with observations of SNR Cassiopeia A (Cas A) at the age of $\sim 350$~years. Thanks to these simulations we were able to link the physical, chemical and morphological properties of a SNR to the physical processes governing the complex phases of the SN explosion.

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The fully developed remnant of a neutrino-driven supernova: Evolution of ejecta structure and asymmetries in SNR Cassiopeia A

Abridged. We aim at exploring to which extent the remnant keeps memory of the asymmetries that develop stochastically in the neutrino-heating layer due to hydrodynamic instabilities (e.g., convective overturn and the standing accretion shock instability) during the first second after core bounce. We coupled a 3D HD model of a neutrino-driven SN explosion with 3D MHD/HD simulations of the remnant formation. The simulations cover 2000 years of expansion and include all physical processes relevant to describe the complexities in the SN evolution and the subsequent interaction of the stellar debris with the wind of the progenitor star. The interaction of large-scale asymmetries left from the earliest phases of the explosion with the reverse shock produces, at the age of $\approx 350$~years, an ejecta structure and a remnant morphology which are remarkably similar to those observed in Cas A. Small-scale structures in the large-scale Fe-rich plumes created during the initial stages of the SN, combined with HD instabilities that develop after the passage of the reverse shock, naturally produce a pattern of ring- and crown-like structures of shocked ejecta. The consequence is a spatial inversion of the ejecta layers with Si-rich ejecta being physically interior to Fe-rich ejecta. The full-fledged remnant shows voids and cavities in the innermost unshocked ejecta resulting from the expansion of Fe-rich plumes and their inflation due to the decay of radioactive species. The asymmetric distributions of $^{44}$Ti and $^{56}$Fe and their abundance ratio are both compatible with those inferred from high-energy observations of Chandra and NuSTAR. The main asymmetries observed in the ejecta distribution of Cas A can be explained by the interaction of the reverse shock with the large-scale asymmetries that developed from stochastic processes that originate during the first seconds of the SN blast.

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Three-dimensional Models of Core-collapse Supernovae From Low-mass Progenitors With Implications for Crab

We present 3D full-sphere supernova simulations of non-rotating low-mass (~9 Msun) progenitors, covering the entire evolution from core collapse through bounce and shock revival, through shock breakout from the stellar surface, until fallback is completed several days later. We obtain low-energy explosions [~(0.5-1.0)x 10^{50} erg] of iron-core progenitors at the low-mass end of the core-collapse supernova (LMCCSN) domain and compare to a super-AGB (sAGB) progenitor with an oxygen-neon-magnesium core that collapses and explodes as electron-capture supernova (ECSN). The onset of the explosion in the LMCCSN models is modelled self-consistently using the Vertex-Prometheus code, whereas the ECSN explosion is modelled using parametric neutrino transport in the Prometheus-HOTB code, choosing different explosion energies in the range of previous self-consistent models. The sAGB and LMCCSN progenitors that share structural similarities have almost spherical explosions with little metal mixing into the hydrogen envelope. A LMCCSN with less 2nd dredge-up results in a highly asymmetric explosion. It shows efficient mixing and dramatic shock deceleration in the extended hydrogen envelope. Both properties allow fast nickel plumes to catch up with the shock, leading to extreme shock deformation and aspherical shock breakout. Fallback masses of <~5x10^{-3} Msun have no significant effects on the neutron star (NS) masses and kicks. The anisotropic fallback carries considerable angular momentum, however, and determines the spin of the newly-born NS. The LMCCSNe model with less 2nd dredge-up results in a hydrodynamic and neutrino-induced NS kick of >40 km/s and a NS spin period of ~30 ms, both not largely different from those of the Crab pulsar at birth.

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Properties of gamma-ray decay lines in 3D core-collapse supernova models, with application to SN 1987A and Cas A

Comparison of theoretical line profiles to observations provides important tests for supernova explosion models. We study the shapes of radioactive decay lines predicted by current 3D core-collapse explosion simulations, and compare these to observations of SN 1987A and Cas A. Both the widths and shifts of decay lines vary by several thousand kilometers per second depending on viewing angle. The line profiles can be complex with multiple peaks. By combining observational constraints from 56Co decay lines, 44Ti decay lines, and Fe IR lines, we delineate a picture of the morphology of the explosive burning ashes in SN 1987A. For M_ZAMS=15-20 Msun progenitors exploding with ~1.5 *10^51 erg, ejecta structures suitable to reproduce the observations involve a bulk asymmetry of the 56Ni of at least ~400 km/s and a bulk velocity of at least ~1500 km/s. By adding constraints to reproduce the UVOIR bolometric light curve of SN 1987A up to 600d, an ejecta mass around 14 Msun is favoured. We also investigate whether observed decay lines can constrain the neutron star (NS) kick velocity. The model grid provides a constraint V_NS > V_redshift, and applying this to SN 1987A gives a NS kick of at least 500 km/s. For Cas A, our single model provides a satisfactory fit to the NuSTAR observations and reinforces the result that current neutrino-driven core-collapse SN models can achieve enough bulk asymmetry in the explosive burning material. Finally, we investigate the internal gamma-ray field and energy deposition, and compare the 3D models to 1D approximations.

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Light curve analysis of ordinary type IIP supernovae based on neutrino-driven explosion simulations in three dimensions

Type II-plateau supernovae (SNe IIP) are the most numerous subclass of core-collapse SNe originating from massive stars. In the framework of the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism, we study the SN outburst properties for a red supergiant progenitor model and compare the corresponding light curves with observations of the ordinary Type IIP SN 1999em. Three-dimensional (3D) simulations of (parametrically triggered) neutrino-driven explosions are performed with the (explicit, finite-volume, Eulerian, multifluid hydrodynamics) code PROMETHEUS, using a presupernova model of a 15 Msun star as initial data. At approaching homologous expansion, the hydrodynamical and composition variables of the 3D models are mapped to a spherically symmetric configuration, and the simulations are continued with the (implicit, Lagrangian radiation-hydrodynamics) code CRAB to follow the blast-wave evolution during the SN outburst. Our 3D neutrino-driven explosion model with an explosion energy of about 0.5x10^51 erg produces Ni-56 in rough agreement with the amount deduced from fitting the radioactively powered light-curve tail of SN 1999em. The considered presupernova model, 3D explosion simulations, and light-curve calculations can explain the basic observational features of SN 1999em, except for those connected to the presupernova structure of the outer stellar layers. Our 3D simulations show that the distribution of Ni-rich matter in velocity space is asymmetric with a strong dipole component that is consistent with the observations of SN 1999em. The monotonic luminosity decline from the plateau to the radioactive tail in ordinary SNe IIP is a manifestation of the intense turbulent mixing at the He/H composition interface.

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Production and Distribution of $^{44}$Ti and $^{56}$Ni in a Three-dimensional Supernova Model Resembling Cassiopeia A

The spatial and velocity distributions of nuclear species synthesized in the innermost regions of core-collapse supernovae can yield important clues about explosion asymmetries and the operation of the still disputed explosion mechanism. Recent observations of radioactive $^{44}$Ti with high-energy satellite telescopes (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array [NuSTAR], INTEGRAL) have measured gamma-ray line details, which provide direct evidence of large-scale explosion asymmetries in SN 1987A and in Cassiopeia A (Cas A) even by mapping of the spatial brightness distribution (NuSTAR). Here we discuss a 3D simulation of a neutrino-driven explosion, using a parameterized neutrino engine, whose $^{44}$Ti distribution is mostly concentrated in one hemisphere pointing opposite to the neutron star (NS) kick velocity. Both exhibit intriguing resemblance to the observed morphology of the Cas A remnant, although neither the progenitor nor the explosion was fine-tuned for a perfect match. Our results demonstrate that the asymmetries observed in this remnant can, in principle, be accounted for by a neutrino-driven explosion, and that the high $^{44}$Ti abundance in Cas A may be explained without invoking rapid rotation or a jet-driven explosion, because neutrino-driven explosions generically eject large amounts of high-entropy matter. The recoil acceleration of the NS is connected to mass ejection asymmetries and is opposite to the direction of the stronger explosion, fully compatible with the gravitational tugboat mechanism. Our results also imply that Cas A and SN 1987A could possess similarly "one-sided" Ti and Fe asymmetries, with the difference that Cas A is viewed from a direction with large inclination angle to the NS motion, whereas the NS in SN 1987A should have a dominant velocity component pointing toward us.

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SASI Activity in Three-Dimensional Neutrino-Hydrodynamics Simulations of Supernova Cores

The relevance of the standing accretion shock instability (SASI) compared to neutrino-driven convection in three-dimensional (3D) supernova-core environments is still highly controversial. Studying a 27 Msun progenitor, we demonstrate, for the first time, that violent SASI activity can develop in 3D simulations with detailed neutrino transport despite the presence of convection. This result was obtained with the Prometheus-Vertex code with the same sophisticated neutrino treatment so far used only in 1D and 2D models. While buoyant plumes initially determine the nonradial mass motions in the postshock layer, bipolar shock sloshing with growing amplitude sets in during a phase of shock retraction and turns into a violent spiral mode whose growth is only quenched when the infall of the Si/SiO interface leads to strong shock expansion in response to a dramatic decrease of the mass accretion rate. In the phase of large-amplitude SASI sloshing and spiral motions, the postshock layer exhibits nonradial deformation dominated by the lowest-order spherical harmonics (l=1, m=0,-1,+1) in distinct contrast to the higher multipole structures associated with neutrino-driven convection. We find that the SASI amplitudes, shock asymmetry, and nonradial kinetic energy in 3D can exceed those of the corresponding 2D case during extended periods of the evolution. We also perform parametrized 3D simulations of a 25 Msun progenitor, using a simplified, gray neutrino transport scheme, an axis-free Yin-Yang grid, and different amplitudes of random seed perturbations. They confirm the importance of the SASI for another progenitor, its independence of the choice of spherical grid, and its preferred growth for fast accretion flows connected to small shock radii and compact proto-neutron stars as previously found in 2D setups.

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Three-dimensional neutrino-driven supernovae: Neutron star kicks, spins, and asymmetric ejection of nucleosynthesis products

We present 3D simulations of supernova (SN) explosions of nonrotating stars, triggered by the neutrino-heating mechanism with a suitable choice of the core-neutrino luminosity. Our results show that asymmetric mass ejection caused by hydrodynamic instabilities can accelerate the neutron star (NS) up to recoil velocities of more than 700 km/s by the "gravitational tug-boat mechanism", which is enough to explain most observed pulsar velocities. The associated NS spin periods are about 100 ms to 8 s without any correlation between spin and kick magnitudes or directions. This suggests that faster spins and a possible spin-kick alignment might require angular momentum in the progenitor core prior to collapse. Our simulations for the first time demonstrate a clear correlation between the size of the NS kick and anisotropic ejection of heavy elements created by explosive burning behind the shock. In the case of large NS kicks the explosion is significantly stronger opposite to the kick vector. Therefore the bulk of the Fe-group elements, in particular nickel, is ejected mostly in large clumps against the kick direction. This contrasts with the case of low recoil velocity, where the Ni-rich lumps are more isotropically distributed. Intermediate-mass nuclei heavier than Si (like Ca and Ti) also exhibit a significant enhancement in the hemisphere opposite to the direction of fast NS motion, while the distribution of C, O, and Ne is not affected, and that of Mg only marginally. Mapping the spatial distribution of the heavy elements in SN remnants with identified pulsar motion may offer an important diagnostic test of the kick mechanism. Different from kick scenarios based on anisotropic neutrino emission, our hydrodynamical acceleration model predicts enhanced ejection of Fe-group elements and of their nuclear precursors in the direction opposite to the NS recoil. (abridged)

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Parametrized 3D models of neutrino-driven supernova explosions: Neutrino emission asymmetries and gravitational-wave signals

Time-dependent and direction-dependent neutrino and gravitational-wave (GW) signatures are presented for a set of 3D hydrodynamic models of parametrized, neutrino-driven supernova explosions of non-rotating 15 and 20 solar mass stars. We employ an approximate treatment of neutrino transport. Due to the excision of the high-density core of the proto-neutron star and the use of an axis-free overset grid, the models can be followed from the post-bounce accretion phase for more than one second without imposing any symmetry restrictions. GW and neutrino emission exhibit the generic time-dependent features known from 2D models. Non-radial hydrodynamic mass motions in the accretion layer and their interaction with the outer layers of the proto-neutron star together with anisotropic neutrino emission give rise to a GW signal with an amplitude of ~5-20 cm and frequencies 100--500 Hz. The GW emission from mass motions reaches a maximum before the explosion sets in. Afterwards the GW signal exhibits a low-frequency modulation, in some cases describing a quasi-monotonic growth, associated with the non-spherical expansion of the explosion shock wave and the large-scale anisotropy of the escaping neutrino flow. Variations of the mass-quadrupole moment due to convective activity inside the nascent neutron star contribute a high-frequency component to the GW signal during the post-explosion phase. The GW signals exhibit strong variability between the two polarizations, different explosion simulations and different observer directions, and does not possess any template character. The neutrino emission properties show fluctuations over the neutron star surface on spatial and temporal scales that reflect the different types of non-spherical mass motions. The modulation amplitudes of the measurable neutrino luminosities and mean energies are significantly smaller than predicted by 2D simulations.

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Hydrodynamical Neutron Star Kicks in Three Dimensions

Using three-dimensional (3D) simulations of neutrino-powered supernova explosions we show that the hydrodynamical kick scenario proposed by Scheck et al. on the basis of two-dimensional (2D) models can yield large neutron star (NS) recoil velocities also in 3D. Although the shock stays relatively spherical, standing accretion-shock and convective instabilities lead to a globally asymmetric mass and energy distribution in the postshock layer. An anisotropic momentum distribution of the ejecta is built up only after the explosion sets in. Total momentum conservation implies the acceleration of the NS on a timescale of 1-3 seconds, mediated mainly by long-lasting, asymmetric accretion downdrafts and the anisotropic gravitational pull of large inhomogeneities in the ejecta. In a limited set of 15 solar-mass models with an explosion energy of about 10^51 erg this stochastic mechanism is found to produce kicks from <100 km/s to >500 km/s, and >1000 km/s seem possible. Strong rotational flows around the accreting NS do not develop in our collapsing, non-rotating progenitors. The NS spins therefore remain low with estimated periods of about 500-1000 ms and no alignment with the kicks.

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