Stellar core collapse. I - Infall epoch

Simulations of the collapse of the central iron core of a 15-solar-mass spherically symmetric star are reported. In this paper the infall epoch, between the onset of collapse and core bounce, is considered. The models use the recent equation of state of Lamb, Lattimer, Pethick, and Ravenhall and general-relativistic hydrodynamics. The electron capture rates on nuclei proceed rapidly for densities less than 10 to the 11th g/cu cm, but are suppressed at higher densities where the neutron number of the nucleus, N, exceeds 40 (Fuller, Fowler, and Newman). Neutrino transport is treated by a leakage scheme. The effects of changes in the neutrino trapping density and of qualitative changes in the electron capture reactions on the evolution are explored. Greater lepton loss during collapse leads to larger pressure deficits, more rapid collapse, and smaller inner homologous cores. The entropy change during the infall is small, the absolute value of delta s being less than 0.8. The mass of inner core is given, to about 20%, by the formula of Goldreich and Weber. Because the collapsing core is far from equilibrium, the effects of general relativity are small.