Termination of the MRI via parasitic instabilities in core-collapse supernovae: influence of numerical methods

T. Rembiasz, M. Obergaulinger, P. Cerdá-Durán, M. Á. Aloy, E. Müller

Published 2016-05-17Version 1

We study the influence of numerical methods and grid resolution on the termination of the magnetorotational instability (MRI) by means of parasitic instabilities in three-dimensional shearing-disc simulations reproducing typical conditions found in core-collapse supernovae. Whether or not the MRI is able to amplify weak magnetic fields in this context strongly depends, among other factors, on the amplitude at which its growth terminates. The qualitative results of our study do not depend on the numerical scheme. In all our models, MRI termination is caused by Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, consistent with theoretical predictions. Quantitatively, however, there are differences, but numerical convergence can be achieved even at relatively low grid resolutions if high-order reconstruction methods are used.