Most supernova explosions accompany the death of a massive star. These explosions give birth to neutron stars and black holes, and eject solar masses of heavy elements. However, determining the mechanism of explosion has been a half-century journey of great numerical and physical complexity. Here we present the status of this theoretical quest and the physics and astrophysics upon which its resolution seems to depend. The delayed neutrino-heating mechanism is emerging as the key driver of supernova explosions, but there remain many issues to address, such as the chaos of the involved dynamics. The factors affecting how and why supernovae occur are discussed, and the current status of core-collapse supernova explosion theory is reviewed.

中文翻译：

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核心坍缩超新星爆炸理论

大多数超新星爆炸都伴随着一颗大质量恒星的死亡。这些爆炸产生中子星和黑洞，并喷射出太阳质量的重元素。然而，确定爆炸的机制是一个具有巨大数字和物理复杂性的半个世纪旅程。在这里，我们介绍了这一理论探索的现状以及其解决方案似乎依赖的物理学和天体物理学。延迟的中微子加热机制正在成为超新星爆炸的关键驱动因素，但仍有许多问题需要解决，例如所涉及的动力学混乱。讨论了影响超新星发生方式和原因的因素，并回顾了核心坍缩超新星爆炸理论的现状。