Neutrino-"pasta" scattering: The opacity of nonuniform neutron-rich matter

C. J. Horowitz, M. A. Pérez-García, J. Piekarewicz

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228 Scopus citations

Abstract

Neutron-rich matter at subnuclear densities may involve complex structures displaying a variety of shapes, such as spherical, slablike, and/or rodlike shapes. These phases of the nuclear pasta are expected to exist in the crust of neutron stars and in core-collapse supernovae. The dynamics of core-collapse supernovae is very sensitive to the interactions between neutrinos and nucleons/nuclei. Indeed, neutrino excitation of the low-energy modes of the pasta may allow for a significant energy transfer to the nuclear medium, thereby reviving the stalled supernovae shock. The linear response of the nuclear pasta to neutrinos is modeled via a simple semiclassical simulation. The transport mean free path for μ and τ neutrinos (and antineutrinos) is expressed in terms of the static structure factor of the pasta, which is evaluated using Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number045804
Pages (from-to)045804-1-045804-9
JournalPhysical Review C - Nuclear Physics
Volume69
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2004
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge useful discussions with Wolfgang Bauer, Adam Burrows, Vladimir Dobrosavljevic, Thomas Janka, Sanjay Reddy, Pedro Schlottmann, Romualdo de Souza, and Victor Viola. C.J.H. acknowledges the Aspen Center for Physics, the Max Plank Institute for Astrophysics, and the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington for their hospitality. M.A.P.G. acknowledges partial support from Indiana University and FICYT. J.P. thanks David Banks and the staff at the FSU Visualization Laboratory for their help. This work was supported in part by U.S. DOE Grant Nos. DE-FG02-87ER40365 and DE-FG05-92ER40750.

Funding

We acknowledge useful discussions with Wolfgang Bauer, Adam Burrows, Vladimir Dobrosavljevic, Thomas Janka, Sanjay Reddy, Pedro Schlottmann, Romualdo de Souza, and Victor Viola. C.J.H. acknowledges the Aspen Center for Physics, the Max Plank Institute for Astrophysics, and the Institute for Nuclear Theory at the University of Washington for their hospitality. M.A.P.G. acknowledges partial support from Indiana University and FICYT. J.P. thanks David Banks and the staff at the FSU Visualization Laboratory for their help. This work was supported in part by U.S. DOE Grant Nos. DE-FG02-87ER40365 and DE-FG05-92ER40750.

FundersFunder number
U.S. Department of EnergyDE-FG05-92ER40750, DE-FG02-87ER40365
Indiana University
Fundación para el Fomento en Asturias de la Investigación Científica Aplicada y la Tecnología

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