Hot Proto-neutron Star Research Articles

Three-dimensional General-relativistic Simulations of Neutrino-driven Winds from Magnetized Proto–Neutron Stars

Formed in the aftermath of a core-collapse supernova or neutron star merger, a hot proto–neutron star (PNS) launches an outflow driven by neutrino heating lasting for up to tens of seconds. Though such winds are considered potential sites for the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements via the rapid neutron capture process (r-process), previous work has shown that unmagnetized PNS winds fail to achieve the necessary combination of high entropy and/or short dynamical timescale in the seed nucleus formation region. We present three-dimensional general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamical simulations of PNS winds which include the effects of a dynamically strong (B ≳ 1015 G) dipole magnetic field. After initializing the magnetic field, the wind quickly develops a helmet-streamer configuration, characterized by outflows along open polar magnetic field lines and a “closed” zone of trapped plasma at lower latitudes. Neutrino heating within the closed zone causes the thermal pressure of the trapped material to rise in time compared to the polar outflow regions, ultimately leading to the expulsion of this matter from the closed zone on a timescale of ∼60 ms, consistent with the predictions of Thompson. The high entropies of these transient ejecta are still growing at the end of our simulations and are sufficient to enable a successful second-peak r-process in at least a modest ≳1% of the equatorial wind ejecta.

Bulk viscosity from Urca processes: npeμ matter in the neutrino-trapped regime

In this work, we extend our previous study of the bulk viscosity of hot and dense $npe$ matter induced by the Urca processes in the neutrino trapped regime to $npe\ensuremath{\mu}$ matter by adding the muonic Urca processes as well as the purely leptonic electroweak processes involving electron-muon transition. The nuclear matter is modeled in a relativistic density functional approach with two different parametrizations which predict neutrino dominated matter (DDME2 model) and antineutrino dominated matter (NL3 model) at temperatures for which neutrinos/antineutrinos are trapped. In the case of neutrino-dominated matter, the main equilibration mechanism is lepton capture, whereas in the case of antineutrino-dominated matter this is due to neutron decay. We find that the equilibration rates of Urca processes are higher than that of the pure leptonic processes, which implies that the Urca-process-driven bulk viscosity can be computed with the leptonic reactions assumed to be frozen. We find that the bulk viscosity decreases with temperature as $\ensuremath{\zeta}\ensuremath{\sim}{T}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ at moderate temperatures. At high temperatures this scaling breaks down by sharp drops of the bulk viscosity close to the temperature where the proton fraction is density-independent and the matter becomes scale-invariant. This occurs also when the matter undergoes a transition from the antineutrino-dominated regime to the neutrino-dominated regime where the bulk viscosity attains a local maximum. We also estimate the bulk viscous dissipation timescales and find that these are in the $\mathrm{range}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ for temperatures above the neutrino trapping temperature. These timescales would be relevant only for long-lived objects formed in binary neutron star mergers and hot proto-neutron stars formed in core-collapse supernovas.

Equation of state of hot dense hyperonic matter in the Quark–Meson-Coupling (QMC-A) model

ABSTRACT We report a new equation of state (EoS) of cold and hot hyperonic matter constructed in the framework of the quark–meson-coupling (QMC-A) model. The QMC-A EoS yields results compatible with available nuclear physics constraints and astrophysical observations. It covers the range of temperatures from T = 0 to 100 MeV, entropies per particle S/A between 0 and 6, lepton fractions from YL = 0.0 to 0.6, and baryon number densities nB = 0.05–1.2 fm−3. Applications of the QMC-A EoS are made to cold neutron stars (NSs) and to hot proto-neutron stars (PNSs) in two scenarios: (i) lepton-rich matter with trapped neutrinos (PNS-I) and (ii) deleptonized chemically equilibrated matter (PNS-II). We find that the QMC-A model predicts hyperons in amounts growing with increasing temperature and density, thus suggesting not only their presence in PNS but also, most likely, in NS merger remnants. The nucleon–hyperon phase transition is studied through the adiabatic index and the speed of sound cs. We observe that the lowering of (cs/c)2 to and below the conformal limit of 1/3 is strongly correlated with the onset of hyperons. Rigid rotation of cold and hot stars, their moments of inertia and Kepler frequencies are also explored. The QMC-A model results are compared with two relativistic models, the chiral mean field model (CMF), and the generalized relativistic density functional (GRDF) with DD2 (nucleon-only) and DD2Y-T (full baryon octet) interactions. Similarities and differences are discussed.

Neutrino signal from proto-neutron star evolution: Effects of opacities from charged-current–neutrino interactions and inverse neutron decay

We investigate the impact of charged current neutrino processes on the formation and evolution of neutrino spectra during the deleptonization of proto-neutron stars. To this end we develop the full kinematics of these reaction rates consistent with the nuclear equation of state, including weak magnetism contributions. This allows us to systematically study the impact of inelastic contributions and weak magnetism on the $\nu_e$ and $\bar\nu_e$ luminosities and average energies. Furthermore, we explore the role of the inverse neutron decay, also known as the direct Urca process, on the emitted spectra of $\bar\nu_e$. This process is commonly considered in the cooling scenario of cold neutron stars but has so far been neglected in the evolution of hot proto-neutron stars. We find that the inverse neutron decay becomes the dominating opacity source for low-energy $\bar\nu_e$. Accurate three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport enables us to relate the magnitude of neutrino fluxes and spectra to details of the treatment of weak processes. This allows us to quantify the corresponding impact on the conditions relevant for the nucleosynthesis in the neutrino-driven wind, which is ejected from the proto-neutron star surface during the deleptonization phase.

Non-exploding and exploding core-collapse supernova models and the multimessenger predictions

AbstractWe present results of full general relativistic (GR), three-dimensional (3D) core-collapse simulation of a massive star with multi-energy neutrino transport. Using a 70Mȯ zero-metallicity star, we show that the black-hole (BH) formation occurs at ∼ 300 ms after bounce. At a few ∼ 10 ms before the BH formation, we find that the stalled bounce shock is revived by neutrino heating from the forming hot proto-neutron star (PNS), which is aided by vigorous convection behind the shock. Our numerical results present the first evidence to validate the BH formation by the so-called fallback scenario. Furthermore we present results from a rapidly rotating core-collapse model of a 27Mȯ star that is trending towards an explosion. We point out that the correlated neutrino and gravitational-wave signatures, if detected, could provide a smoking-gun evidence of rapid rotation of the newly-born PNS.

The Gravothermal Instability at All Scales: From Turnaround Radius to Supernovae

The gravitational instability, responsible for the formation of the structure of the Universe, occurs below energy thresholds and above spatial scales of a self-gravitating expanding region, when thermal energy can no longer counterbalance self-gravity. I argue that at sufficiently-large scales, dark energy may restore thermal stability. This stability re-entrance of an isothermal sphere defines a turnaround radius, which dictates the maximum allowed size of any structure generated by gravitational instability. On the opposite limit of high energies and small scales, I will show that an ideal, quantum or classical, self-gravitating gas is subject to a high-energy relativistic gravothermal instability. It occurs at sufficiently-high energy and small radii, when thermal energy cannot support its own gravitational attraction. Applications of the phenomenon include neutron stars and core-collapse supernovae. I also extend the original Oppenheimer–Volkov calculation of the maximum mass limit of ideal neutron cores to the non-zero temperature regime, relevant to the whole cooling stage from a hot proto-neutron star down to the final cold state.

A full general relativistic neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics simulation of a collapsing very massive star and the formation of a black hole

Abstract We study the final fate of a very massive star by performing full general relativistic (GR), three-dimensional (3D) simulation with three-flavour multi-energy neutrino transport. Utilizing a 70 solar mass zero-metallicity progenitor, we self-consistently follow the radiation-hydrodynamics from the onset of gravitational core-collapse until the second collapse of the proto-neutron star (PNS), leading to black hole (BH) formation. Our results show that the BH formation occurs at a post-bounce time of Tpb ∼ 300 ms for the 70 M⊙ star. This is significantly earlier than those in the literature where lower mass progenitors were employed. At a few ∼10 ms before BH formation, we find that the stalled bounce shock is revived by intense neutrino heating from the very hot PNS, which is aided by violent convection behind the shock. In the context of 3D-GR core-collapse modelling with multi-energy neutrino transport, our numerical results present the first evidence to validate a fallback BH formation scenario of the 70 M⊙ star.

Numerical simulation of the hydrodynamical combustion to strange quark matter in the trapped neutrino regime

We simulate and study the microphysics of combustion (flame burning) of two flavored quark matter (u,d) to three flavored quark matter (u,d,s) in a trapped neutrino regime applicable to conditions prevailing in a hot proto-neutron star. The reaction–diffusion–advection equations for (u,d) to (u,d,s) combustion are coupled with neutrino transport, which is modeled through a flux-limited diffusion scheme. The flame speed is proportional to initial lepton fraction because of the release of electron chemical potential as heat, and reaches a steady-state burning speed of (0.001–0.008)c. We find that the burning speed is ultimately driven by the neutrino pressure gradient, given that the pressure gradient induced by quarks is opposed by the pressure gradients induced by electrons. This suggests, somewhat counter-intuitively, that the pressure gradients that drive the interface are controlled primarily by leptonic weak decays rather than by the quark Equation of State (EOS). In other words, the effects of the leptonic weak interaction, including the corresponding weak decay rates and the EOS of electrons and neutrinos, are at least as important as the uncertainties related to the EOS of high density matter. We find that for baryon number densities nB≤0.35 fm−3, strong pressure gradients induced by leptonic weak decays drastically slow down the burning speed, which is thereafter controlled by the much slower burning process driven by backflowing downstream matter. We discuss the implications of our findings to proto-neutron stars.

Mean-field study of hotβ-stable protoneutron star matter: Impact of the symmetry energy and nucleon effective mass

A consistent Hartree-Fock study of the equation of state (EOS) of asymmetric nuclear matter at finite temperature has been performed using realistic choices of the effective, density dependent nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction, which were successfully used in different nuclear structure and reaction studies. Given the importance of the nuclear symmetry energy in the neutron star formation, EOS's associated with different behaviors of the symmetry energy were used to study hot asymmetric nuclear matter. The slope of the symmetry energy and nucleon effective mass with increasing baryon density was found to affect the thermal properties of nuclear matter significantly. Different density dependent NN interactions were further used to study the EOS of hot protoneutron star (PNS) matter of the $npe\mu\nu$ composition in $\beta$-equilibrium. The hydrostatic configurations of PNS in terms of the maximal gravitational mass $M_{\rm max}$ and radius, central density, pressure and temperature at the total entropy per baryon $S/A= 1,2$ and 4 have been determined in both the neutrino-free and neutrino-trapped scenarios. The obtained results show consistently a strong impact of the symmetry energy and nucleon effective mass on thermal properties and composition of hot PNS matter. $M_{\rm max}$ values obtained for the (neutrino-free) $\beta$-stable PNS at $S/A=4$ were used to assess time $t_{\rm BH}$ of the collapse of 40 $M_\odot$ protoneutron progenitor to black hole, based on a correlation between $t_{\rm BH}$ and $M_{\rm max}$ found from the hydrodynamic simulation by Hempel {\it et al.}.

Chiral magnetic effect in protoneutron stars and magnetic field spectral evolution

We investigate the evolution of the chiral magnetic instability in a protoneutron star and compute the resulting magnetic power and helicity spectra. The instability may act during the early cooling phase of the hot protoneutron star after supernova core collapse, where it can contribute to the buildup of magnetic fields of strength up to the order of 1014 G. The maximal field strengths generated by this instability, however, depend considerably on the temperature of the protoneutron star, on density fluctuations and turbulence spectrum of the medium. At the end of the hot cooling phase the magnetic field tends to be concentrated around the submillimeter to cm scale, where it is subject to slow resistive damping.

Structure of the hadron-quark mixed phase in protoneutron stars

We study the hadron-quark phase transition in the interior of hot protoneutron stars, combining the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach for hadronic matter with the MIT bag model or the Dyson-Schwinger model for quark matter. We examine the structure of the mixed phase constructed according to different prescriptions for the phase transition, and the resulting consequences for stellar properties. We find important effects for the internal composition, but only very small influence on the global stellar properties.

Strange matter in core-collapse supernovae

We discuss the possible impact of strange quark matter on the evolution of core-collapse supernovae with emphasis on low critical densities for the quark-hadron phase transition. For such cases the hot proto-neutron star can collapse to a more compact hybrid star configuration hundreds of milliseconds after core-bounce. The collapse triggers the formation of a second shock wave. The latter leads to a successful supernova explosion and leaves an imprint on the neutrino signal. These dynamical features are discussed with respect to their compatibility with recent neutron star mass measurements which indicate a stiff high density nuclear matter equation of state.

Oscillations of hot, young neutron stars: Gravitational wave frequencies and damping times

We study how the frequencies and damping times of oscillations of a newly born, hot proto-neutron star depend on the physical quantities which characterize the star quasi-stationary evolution which follows the bounce. Stellar configurations are modeled using a microscopic equation of state obtained within the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock, nuclear many-body approach, extended to the finite-temperature regime. We discuss the mode frequency behaviour as function of the lepton composition, and of the entropy gradients which prevail in the interior of the star. We find that, in the very early stages, gravitational wave emission efficiently competes with neutrino processes in dissipating the star mechanical energy residual of the gravitational collapse.

What are the astrophysical sites for the [formula omitted]-process and the production of heavy elements?

This article addresses three of the four nucleosynthesis processes involved in producing heavy nuclei beyond Fe (with a main focus on the r -process). Opposite to the fourth process (the s -process), which operates in stellar evolution during He- and C-burning, they are all related to explosive burning phases, (presumably) linked to core collapse supernova events of massive stars. The (classical) p -process is identified with explosive Ne/O-burning in outer zones of the progenitor star. It is initiated by the passage of the supernova shock wave and acts via photodisintegration reactions like a spallation process which produces neighboring (proton-rich) isotopes from pre-existing heavy nuclei. The reproduction of some of the so-called lighter p -isotopes with A < 100 faces problems in this environment. The only recently discovered ν p -process is related to the innermost ejecta, the neutrino wind expelled from the hot proto-neutron star after core collapse and the supernova explosion. This neutrino wind is proton-rich in its early phase, producing nuclei up to 64Ge. Reactions with neutrinos permit to overcome decay/reaction bottlenecks for the flow beyond 64Ge, thus producing light p -isotopes, which face problems in the classical p -process scenario. The understanding of the r -process, being identified for a long time with rapid neutron captures and passing through nuclei far from stability, is still experiencing major problems. These are on the one hand related to nuclear uncertainties far from stability (masses, half-lives, fission barriers), affecting the process speed and abundance peaks. On the other hand the site is still not definitely located, yet. (i) Later, possibly neutron-rich, high entropy phases of the neutrino wind (if they materialize!) could permit its operation. (ii) Other options include the ejection of very neutron-rich neutron star-like matter, occurring possibly in neutron star mergers or core collapse supernova events with jets, related to prior stellar evolution with high rotation rates and magnetic fields. Two different environments are required for a weak and a main/strong r -process, witnessed by observations of low metallicity stars and meteoritic inclusions, which could possibly be identified with the two options listed above, i.e. the weak r -process could be related to the neutrino wind when changing from p -rich to n -rich conditions.

Role of isospin physics in supernova matter and neutron stars

We investigate the liquid-gas phase transition of hot protoneutron stars shortly after their birth following supernova explosion and the composition and structure of hyperon-rich (proto)neutron stars within a relativistic mean-field model where the nuclear symmetry energy has been constrained from the measured neutron skin thickness of finite nuclei. Light clusters are abundantly formed with increasing temperature well inside the neutrino-sphere for an uniform supernova matter. Liquid-gas phase transition is found to suppress the cluster yield within the coexistence phase as well as decrease considerably the neutron-proton asymmetry over a wide density range. We find symmetry energy has a modest effect on the boundaries and the critical temperature for the liquid-gas phase transition, and the composition depends more sensitively on the number of trapped neutrinos and temperature of the protoneutron star. The influence of hyperons in the dense interior of stars makes the overall equation of state soft. However, neutrino trapping distinctly delays the appearance of hyperons due to abundance of electrons. We also find that a softer symmetry energy further makes the onset of hyperon less favorable. The resulting structures of the (proto)neutron stars with hyperons and with liquid-gas phase transition are discussed.

EOS of hyperonic matter for core-collapse supernovae

We discuss the properties of the supernova matter equation of state (EOS) including hyperons, and the emergence of hyperons in dynamical core-collapse processes. The recently tabulated EOS including hyperons is based on an SU f ( 3 ) extended relativistic mean field (RMF) model, in which the coupling constants of hyperons with scalar mesons are determined to fit the hyperon potential depths in nuclear matter, ( U Σ , U Ξ ) = ( + 30 MeV , − 15 MeV ) , which are suggested from recent analyses of hyperon production reactions. Hyperon effects are found to be small in the core-collapse and bounce stages, but abundant hyperons appear when the temperature becomes high during black hole formation and promote earlier collapse of the accreting proto-neutron star. The maximum mass of a hot proto-neutron star is discussed, and we give a rough estimate of the critical mass of the accreting proto-neutron star, at which the proto-neutron star re-collapses to a black hole.

Neutrinos and explosive nucleosynthesis

Core-collapse supernovae produce a hot protoneutron star that cools emitting huge amounts of neutrinos of all flavors. The interaction of these neutrinos with the outer layers of the protoneutron star produces an outflow of matter whose composition is determined by the luminosities and energies of the emitted neutrinos and antineutrinos. The presence of light nuclei like deuterons and tritons can have a big impact in the average energies of the emitted antineutrinos and consequently in the neutron-richness of the ejected matter. Recent hydrodynamical models show that the ejected matter is in fact proton-rich and constitutes the site of the ν p -process where antineutrino absorption reactions catalyze the nucleosynthesis of nuclei with A > 64 .

The r-, p-, and νp-Process

The processes discussed in this review are three of the four nucleosynthesis processes involved in producing heavy nuclei beyond Fe (not counting the rp-process in X-ray bursts). Opposite to the fourth process (the s-process), which operates in stellar evolution during He- and C-burning, they are all related to explosive burning phases, (presumably) linked to core collapse supernova events of massive stars. The (classical) p-process is identified with explosive Ne/O-burning in outer zones of the progenitor star. It is intitiated by the passage of the supernova shock wave and acts via photodisintegration reactions like a spallation process which produces neighboring (proton-rich) isotopes from pre-existing heavy nuclei. The reproduction of some of the so-called lighter p-isotopes with A < 100 faces problems in this environment. The only recently discovered νp-process is related to the innermost ejecta, the neutrino wind expelled from the hot proto-neutron star after core collapse in the supernova explosion. This neutrino wind is proton-rich in its early phase and reactions with neutrinos permit to overcome decay/reaction bottlenecks for the flow beyond the Fe-group, thus permitting the production of those p-isotopes, which face problems in the classical p-process scenario. The understanding of the r-process, being identified for a long time with rapid neutron captures – and passing through nuclei far from stability – is still experiencing major problems. These are on the one hand related to nuclear uncertainties far from stability (masses and half-lives), affecting the process speed and abundance peaks, on the other hand the site is still not definitely located, yet. Later neutron-rich, high entropy phases of the neutrino wind could permit its operation, other options include the ejection of very neutron-rich neutron star matter. Two different environments are required for a weak and a main/strong r-process, witnessed by observations of low metallicity stars.

Links between heavy ion and astrophysics

Heavy-ion experiments provide important data to test astrophysical models. The high-density equation of state can be probed in HI collisions and applied to the hot protoneutron star formed in core collapse supernovae. The parity radius experiment (PREX) aims to accurately measure the neutron radius of 208Pb with parity-violating electron scattering. This determines the pressure of neutron-rich matter and the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Competition between nuclear attraction and Coulomb repulsion can form exotic shapes called nuclear pasta in neutron star crusts and supernovae. This competition can be probed with multifragmentation HI reactions. We use large-scale semiclassical simulations to study nonuniform neutron-rich matter in supernovae. We find that the Coulomb interactions in astrophysical systems suppress density fluctuations. As a result, there is no first-order liquid-vapor phase transition. Finally, the virial expansion for low-density matter shows that the nuclear vapor phase is complex with significant concentrations of alpha particles and other light nuclei in addition to free nucleons.

Neutron stars in a Skyrme model with hyperons

Available Skyrme parametrizations with hyperons are examined from the point of view of their suitability for applications to neutron stars. It is shown that the hyperons can attenuate or even remove the problem of ferromagnetic instability common to (nearly) all Skyrme parametrizations of the nucleon-nucleon interaction. At high density the results are very sensitive to the choice of the Lambda-Lambda interaction. The selected parameter sets are then used to obtain the resulting properties of both cold neutron stars and hot protoneutron stars. The general features known from other models are recovered.