Abstract
We present a critical assessment of the SN1987A supernova cooling bound on axions and other light particles. Core-collapse simulations used in the literature to substantiate the bound omitted from the calculation the envelope exterior to the proto-neutron star (PNS). As a result, the only source of neutrinos in these simulations was, by construction, a cooling PNS. We show that if the canonical delayed neutrino mechanism failed to explode SN1987A, and if the pre-collapse star was rotating, then an accretion disk would form that could explain the late-time ($t\gtrsim5$ sec) neutrino events. Such accretion disk would be a natural feature if SN1987A was a collapse-induced thermonuclear explosion. Axions do not cool the disk and do not affect its neutrino output, provided the disk is optically-thin to neutrinos, as it naturally is. These considerations cast doubt on the supernova cooling bound.
Highlights
The neutrino burst of the core collapse supernova (CCSN) SN1987A [1,2,3] played an important role in constraining models of new light particles beyond the Standard Model
The argument is that emission of new particles from the proto-neutron star (PNS) core would compete with the Standard Model neutrino production
Simulations used in the literature to substantiate the axion bound excised, by hand, the envelope of the star above the proto-neutron star (PNS), such that the only source of neutrinos in these simulations was a bare cooling PNS
Summary
The neutrino burst of the core collapse supernova (CCSN) SN1987A [1,2,3] played an important role in constraining models of new light particles beyond the Standard Model. The argument is that emission of new particles from the proto-neutron star (PNS) core would compete with the Standard Model neutrino production. The PNS cools too fast to account for the neutrino events observed up to ∼10 sec after the onset of the burst. This argument for the axion bound hinges on the assumption that the late-time (t ≳ 5 sec) neutrino emission was produced by a cooling PNS. Some credence may be lent to the bound if a NS would be observed in the remnant, or if DνM simulations would demonstrate explosions with progenitors and energetics comparable to those of SN1987A. Even one might worry about residual accretion that could accompany the explosion in the DνM [49,50] once 3D effects are taken into account
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