SXS Collaboration's video: Magnetorotational Core-Collapse Supernovae in Three Dimensions plasma beta parameter

This movie shows the time-evolution of the fluid pressure over magnetic pressure (P_gas/P_mag) in a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized massive star that collapses to a proto-neutron star. This colors indicate the relative strength of magnetic field effects compared to the dynamics of the gas itself. Blue/red colors corresponds to material that is dominated by gas dynamics, yellow indicates magnetically dominated material. The ultra-strong magnetic field (~10^16G) drives funnels of highly magnetized material (in yellow, P_gas/P_mag ~ 0.1) that twist and bend due to a spiraling magnetic field instability. As a result the shock front evolves in a highly asymmetric fashion. The size of the rendering is 2000km x 2000km. This movie was generated by the Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes (SXS) project. http://www.black-holes.org. The simulation work was led by Philipp Moesta at Caltech and the movie was rendered by Sherwood Richers, also at Caltech.