Neutrino mean free path in neutron stars

Abstract

The neutrino propagation in neutron stars is studied in the framework of the linear response method. The medium effects are treated in the nonrelativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach either in the mean-field approximation or in the random phase approximation. The residual interaction is expressed in terms of the Landau parameters extracted from the equation of state of spin- and isospin-polarized nuclear matter. The Brueckner theory including three-body forces is used for determining the equation of state. Numerical predictions for the response function of nuclear matter in $\ensuremath{\beta}$ equilibrium and the neutrino mean free path are presented in a range of baryonic densities and temperatures. The main results are a dominance of the charge-exchange component over the scattering component and an enhancement of the neutrino mean free path induced by nuclear correlations.