Oliviero, Veronica (2026) Probing Core-Collapse Supernovae through Neutrino Messengers Across Energy Scales: From Phenomenological Modeling to KM3NeT/ARCA Perspective. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Core-collapse supernovae represent unique laboratories for studying neutrino physics across a wide energy range, from the thermal MeV emission produced during stellar core collapse to possible non-thermal components at GeV–PeV energies generated in extreme environments. This thesis investigates both regimes through a unified approach combining phenomenological modelling, data reanalysis, and detector-level sensitivity studies. The first part focuses on the neutrino signal from SN1987A, the only core-collapse supernova detected in neutrinos to date. A refined parametric model of the $\bar{\nu}_e$ flux is developed, incorporating a finite rise time and a physically motivated transition between accretion and cooling phases, together with a detailed treatment of detector response. A global likelihood analysis of the Kamiokande-II, IMB, and Baksan datasets provides updated constraints on the temporal evolution and energetics of the emission. In addition, a dedicated timing study reconstructs a consistent temporal ordering of events across the three experiments, enabling a reassessment of the earliest detected events and of their possible physical interpretation. The second part of the thesis explores the potential production of high-energy neutrinos in core-collapse supernovae, focusing on scenarios involving interaction with a dense circumstellar medium. Using state-of-the-art theoretical models, realistic neutrino fluxes and light curves are implemented within the KM3NeT/ARCA framework. Detector sensitivities are evaluated through both cut-and-count and unbinned likelihood analyses, in time-integrated and time-dependent formulations. The results show that, for current detector configurations, only exceptionally nearby events would be detectable, while future expanded configurations significantly enhance the discovery potential. The time-dependent approach, in particular, proves essential for maximizing sensitivity to transient signals. By bridging the historical observation of SN1987A with the capabilities of next-generation neutrino telescopes, this work highlights how neutrino observations across energy scales can probe both the internal dynamics of stellar explosions and the mechanisms of non-thermal particle acceleration. The analysis strategies developed here provide a methodological framework for future multimessenger studies of core-collapse supernovae.

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