恒星演化和超新星爆发理论中某些重要问题的核物理问题

首先 ,在第 1节中我们依次介绍了各种不同质量的恒星演化进程中各个主要热核燃烧的点火条件 ,致密物质中自由电子系统的简并性对星体热核燃烧的主导作用以及爆炸性核燃烧条件。其次 ,在第 2节中我们讨论了导致恒星核心不稳定坍缩的物理因素和条件。此后 ,在本文第 3节中我们评述了Ⅰa 型超新星爆发理论尚在争论中的核物理和固体物理的问题。在第 4节中我们评述了Ⅱ型 (以及Ib 型 )超新星爆发理论中的严重困难 ,并且介绍了我们 (南京大学研究小组 )就超新星中微子延缓爆发机制的关键问题 (强大的中微子暴如何产生 ?)的物理机制提出的具体过程 :这中微子暴的强大中微子流量是从刚刚坍缩的高温高密核心通过核物质——— (u ,d)夸克系统——— (u ,d ,s)系统的相变过程在不到 1微秒的时间内很快地产生出来的的。而且 ,这个过程导致核心区域的负熵梯度 ,引起核心区域大规模对流 ,它将这强大的中微子流量很快地向外输送到中微子球的表面。在第 5节中本文还介绍了我们就超新星核心高密条件下电荷屏蔽对电子俘获过程的影响所作的探讨研究以及讨论了它对超新星坍缩核心质量 (它对超新星瞬时爆发机制成功与否起着关键作用 )的可能影响。     

《引力塌缩型超新星爆发机制及计算天体物理的相关问题》国际研讨会在上海召开

超新星是某些恒星演化到末期时灾变性的爆发,是宇宙中已知的最猛烈的爆发现象之一。爆发结果或是将恒星物质完全抛散,成为超新星遗迹,或是抛射掉大部分质量,核心遗留下的物质坍缩为中子星或黑洞。在爆炸瞬间以及在爆炸后观测到的现象涉及到多种物理机制,例如中微子和引力波发射、燃烧传播及爆炸核合成、放射性衰变等。     

超新星爆发理论中某些重要的核物理问题

 一、导致恒星不稳定坍缩的主要物理因素一颗恒星的演化史本质上就是它内部核心区域的热核（燃烧）演化史．一个质量较大的恒星在其演化的一生中将先后经历氢燃烧,氦燃烧,碳燃烧,氖燃烧,氧燃烧以及硅燃烧等热核燃烧阶段．不同质量的恒星经历它所有可能的热核演化之后,通常都要出现较为剧烈的演变．对于质量较低（例如Ｍ＜８Ｍ）的恒星,要经历以前述剧烈热脉冲为特征的ＡＧＢ星阶段,其核心逐渐收缩为白矮星,而星幔和包层则被向外抛射并膨胀成为行星状星云．大质量恒星（Ｍ＞８Ｍ）则要经历更为剧烈的演变过程,例如像Ⅱ型超新星那样的极其猛烈的爆发．     

从粒子到宇宙

 从超新星１９８７Ａ谈起１９８７年２月２３日,在地球上探测到远离它１７万光年的大麦哲伦星云发生的一次能量为１０２７倍的氢弹爆炸能量的超新星爆发,这次爆发后来被称为１９８７Ａ．这是自１６０４年开普勒探测到的这类爆发以来人类第一次可由肉眼观察到的超新星爆发．由于核燃料的耗尽,在自身强大引力的作用下,星体在几秒钟的时间内坍缩,并释放出成百倍于我们太阳在它现存的时间内发出的全部能量．在加拿大天文学家在智利的山上注意到超新星１９８７Ａ之前,就传来了中微子在美国和日本的两个巨大的地下粒子探测器被记录的消息．这些探测器均由几千吨非常纯净的水组成,并配以光电倍增管和电子学．     

核天体物理学的某些重大疑难问题

本文简介与评述了当今核天体物理学的几个最为突出的重大疑难问题，如（１）恒星晚期演化研究中最为关键的几个核反应截面的不确定性；（２）Ｉａ型超新星爆发理论基本环节节中的争论及其一些严重矛盾的问题；（３）Ⅱ型超新星爆发现有理论和它迄今尚未能自洽地获得（观测到的）爆发这一重大矛盾的关键原因及为突破这个困难人们最近所作的较为成功的探讨（４）星卫＾２６Ａｌ问题和它所面临的困难及提出合成＾２６Ａｌ核的可能新途径     

γ射线暴的最新研究进展:火球模型、余辉及前身星

γ射线暴（称简γ暴）的研究在最近几年里有了巨大的突破。观测上，人们发现了γ暴的低能余辉以及与γ射线发同时的光学爆发，还发现了它位于宇学距离的寄主星系。越来越多的观测证据还表明长时标γ暴与恒星形成区、甚至可能与超新星成协。在γ暴的相对论火球模型框架下，人们对γ暴以及余辉的产生机制的认识也有了进展。进而人们对γ暴的前身星以及环境效应等有了新的认识。本文旨在对这些进展和认识给一个扼要的评述。     

超新星研究进展

本文先介绍超新星巡天和分类,简要地论述历史超新星SN 1006一千年,接着讨论核心塌缩超新星物理和具体事例（SN1987A 20年、 SN2006gy、 2008D）及超新星与γ射线暴的联系,文章重点讨论SNIa 和宇宙学,评述了SNIa在宇宙学中的应用和哈勃常数的确定,最后指出超新星研究目前存在的问题。     

太阳风层可作为粒子加速的天体物理实验室

在宇宙中的稀薄等离子体中,通常所见的两体库仑碰撞是不重要的。带电粒子的行为由长程电磁力引起的集体相互作用来控制.在这些等离子体中某些动力学能量被释放出来而转变为热能时,粒子的能量分布会极大地偏离麦克斯韦-玻尔兹曼分布.通过研究粒子的加速过程,我们可以详细地了解能量的转换过程及系统可能达到的极端条件. 天体物理向我们提供的最新的一个例子是发生在1987年初的超新星爆发(被命名为SN1987A).在这次超新星爆发中,人们接收到从射电到γ射线的全波段上电磁辐射的爆发,同时也观测到中微子爆.天体物理学家急切地希望直接或间接地…     

作为宇宙信使的X射线

60年前,里卡多·贾科尼团队用探空火箭首次探测到了来自太阳系以外的X射线辐射,从此打开了人类探索宇宙的一个全新的窗口。与我们所熟悉的可见光天空不同,在"看不见"的X射线宇宙,明亮的发光天体涵盖了黑洞、中子星、白矮星等致密天体,星系团和星系中弥漫的大量不可见的高温气体,以及各种剧烈的灾变事件。它们代表着宇宙中最为奇特的天体和极端的物理条件,如极强引力场、极强磁场和极高温。文章重点介绍最有代表性的X射线源,包括中子星和黑洞X射线双星、超大质量黑洞和活动星系核、星系团,以及伽马暴、超新星和潮汐瓦解恒星事件等爆发天体。     

定性与半定量的物理学连载(24)

2.白矮星、中子星和超新星爆发 在没有外部核能源的情况下,恒星要达到某种平衡位形,必须找到足以抗衡引力的支撑力.抵挡引力坍缩的下一道防线是电子的简并压. 我们在第三章§5中曾估算过电子简并压.若不考虑某个数量级与1相差不远的数值系数,估算的步骤大体如下:其中能量E= NEk,这里N是电子总数,Ek是每个电子的平均动能.在第三章里计算地球上物质内的电子简并压时,电子气是非相对论性的,在白矮星上物质的密度要大得多,从而费米动量可能达到相对论性的数量级,故而我们要区分开这两种情况下动能 Ek与动量 P之间的关系在两情形里动量P皆可…     

超新星核中的夸克相变及夸克质量效应

分别基于组夸克质量模型和流夸克质量模型, 讨论了超新星核心区两味夸克物质到更稳定的三味夸克物质的相变过程. 结果表明, 两种质量模型下相变的特征时标都短于10^-8s, 且质量越小的流夸克质量模型的相变速率越快;组分夸克质量模型下所得到的超新星核区的s夸克丰度, 中微子丰度及中微子总能量(除温度)相比前人的结果有轻微的增加, 而流夸克质量模型下所得到的这些参量的增加更为明显, 采用流夸克质量模型更有利于超新星的中微子延迟爆发机理的成功. 关键词： 夸克相变 组分夸克质量 流夸克质量 超新星     

Spin flip of neutrinos with magnetic moment in core-collapse supernova

Neutrinos with magnetic moment experience chirality flips while scattering off charged particles. It is known that if neutrino is a Dirac fermion, then such chirality flips lead to the production of sterile right-handed neutrinos inside the core of a star during the stellar collapse, which may facilitate the supernova explosion and modify the supernova neutrino signal. In the present paper we reexamine the production of right-handed neutrinos during the collapse using a dynamical model of the collapse. We refine the estimates of the values of the Dirac magnetic moment which are necessary to substantially alter the supernova dynamics and neutrno signal. It is argued in particular that Super-Kamiokande will be sensitive at least to μ _{ν Dirac} = 10⁻¹³μ_B in case of a galactic supernova explosion. Also we briefly discuss the case of Majorana neutrino magnetic moment. It is pointed out that in the inner supernova core spin flips may quickly equilibrate electron neutrinos with nonelectron antineutrinos if μ _{ν Majorana} ≳ 10⁻¹²μ_B. This may lead to various consequences for supernova physics.     

Resonance neutrino bremsstrahlung ν → νγ in a strong magnetic field

High energy neutrino bremsstrahlung ν → ν + γ in a strong magnetic field (B B_s) is studied in the framework of the Standard Model (SM). A resonance probability and a four-vector of the neutrino energy and momentum loss are presented. A possible manifestation of the neutrino bremsstrahlung in astrophysical cataclysm of type of a supernova explosion or a merger of neutron stars, as an origin of cosmological γ-burst is briefly discussed.     

Selected topics in nuclear astrophysics

In this lectures after a brief introduction to stellar reaction rates and its implementation in nuclear networks I discuss the nuclear aspects of the collapse of the inner core of massive stars once it has run out of its nuclear energy source and of the star's explosion as a type II supernova and the explosive nucleosynthesis occurring during this explosion which leads to the production of heavy elements by the rapid neutron capture process and potentially also by the recently discovered νp process.     

Neutrino interactions in dense stellar matter

Weak-interaction rates play an important role in the birth of neutron stars in core collapse supernova and their subsequent thermal evolution. In this paper, I highlight the role of strong interactions and phase transitions in calculations of neutrino scattering and emission rates in dense stellar matter.Received: 1 November 2002, Published online: 15 July 2003PACS: 13.15.+g Neutrino interactions - 13.20.-v Leptonic and semileptonic decays of mesons - 26.50.+x Nuclear physics aspects of novae, supernovae, and other explosive environments - 26.60.+c Nuclear matter aspects of neutron starsPresent address: Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, MS B283, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA     

Possible CP-violation effects in core-collapse supernovae

We study CP-violation effects when neutrinos are present in dense matter, such as outside the proto-neutron star formed in a core-collapse supernova. Using general arguments based on the Standard Model, we confirm that there are no CP-violating effects at the tree level on the electron neutrino and anti-neutrino fluxes in a core-collapse supernova. On the other hand significant effects can be obtained for muon and tau neutrinos even at the tree level. We show that CP-violating effects can be present in the supernova electron (anti-)neutrino fluxes as well, if muon and tau neutrinos have different fluxes at the neutrinosphere. Such differences could arise due to physics beyond the Standard Model, such as the presence of flavor-changing interactions.     

TeV-scale bileptons, see-saw type II and lepton flavor violation in core-collapse supernova

Electrons and electron neutrinos in the inner core of the core-collapse supernova are highly degenerate and therefore numerous during a few seconds of explosion. In contrast, leptons of other flavors are non-degenerate and therefore relatively scarce. This is due to lepton flavor conservation. If this conservation law is broken by some non-standard interactions, ν _e are converted to ν _μ , ν _τ , and e are converted to μ. This affects the supernova dynamics and the supernova neutrino signal. We consider lepton flavor violating interactions mediated by scalar bileptons, i.e. heavy scalars with lepton number 2. It is shown that in case of TeV-mass bileptons the electron Fermi gas is equilibrated with non-electron species inside the inner supernova core at a time scale ～(1–100) ms. In particular, a scalar triplet which generates neutrino masses through the see-saw type II mechanism is considered. It is found that the supernova core is sensitive to yet unprobed values of masses and couplings of the triplet.     

Protoneutron star cooling with convection: the effect of the symmetry energy

We model neutrino emission from a newly born neutron star subsequent to a supernova explosion to study its sensitivity to the equation of state, neutrino opacities, and convective instabilities at high baryon density. We find the time period and spatial extent over which convection operates is sensitive to the behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy at and above nuclear density. When convection ends within the protoneutron star, there is a break in the predicted neutrino emission that may be clearly observable.     

No collective neutrino flavor conversions during the supernova accretion phase

We perform a dedicated study of the supernova (SN) neutrino flavor evolution during the accretion phase, using results from recent neutrino radiation hydrodynamics simulations. In contrast to what was expected in the presence of only neutrino-neutrino interactions, we find that the multiangle effects associated with the dense ordinary matter suppress collective oscillations. The matter suppression implies that neutrino oscillations will start outside the neutrino decoupling region and therefore will have a negligible impact on the neutrino heating and the explosion dynamics. Furthermore, the possible detection of the next galactic SN neutrino signal from the accretion phase, based on the usual Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect in the SN mantle and Earth matter effects, can reveal the neutrino mass hierarchy in the case that the mixing angle θ(13) is not very small.