Shock Interaction Effects on the Supernova Light Curve

There is growing evidence that the emission from core-collapse supernovae is affected by the interaction between the supernova blast wave and its immediate surroundings (the circumstellar medium). Understanding the affect of these shock interactions on the supernova emission involves studying the complex coupling between radiation and hydrodynamics. Here we present a series of radiation-hydrodynamics calculations of shock interactions in supernova explosions, outlining the broad range of physical effects (e.g. shock heating, radiative acceleration) that alter the flow of the blastwave and the emission from these supernovae. These physics studies allow us to implement a methodology to include this physics into light-curve calculations, in which we can detail the effect of shock interactions on observed supernovae.