Stellar collapse and explosion - Hydrodynamics of the core

The late stages of evolution of the core of massive stars are considered. It is pointed out that the effect of neutrino trapping and magnetic fields may be to make the soluble problem of adiabatic, spherically symmetric collapse the astrophysically relevant one. Results of general-relativistic hydrodynamic calculations, using real, finite-temperature equations of state, are presented; both neutron stars and black holes result. Explosion energies are at maximum for core mass near the critical value; in some cases black hole formation follows an explosion.