Solar-System Abundances of p-Nuclides Probe Collective Neutrino Oscillations in Supernovae

2026/07/16 by Alexander Friedland, Derek J. Li, Giuseppe Lucente +3
#hep-ph #astro-ph.HE #astro-ph.SR #nucl-th

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Abstract

Direct evidence for collective neutrino oscillations in core-collapse supernovae remains elusive. We show that this quantum phenomenon leaves a footprint on the abundance pattern of proton-rich nuclides in the solar system. Modeling the νp-process using a 20 M_\odot progenitor, we map out the dependence of the total yields on the starting radius of the oscillations, self-consistently coupling hydrodynamics and nucleosynthesis. The oscillations boost key p-nuclides (^92,94Mo, ^96,98Ru) and long-lived ⁹²Nb by up to two orders of magnitude, bringing their abundances into agreement with the observations. The best match is found when oscillations commence within 10 km of the proto-neutron star surface, indicating fast collective oscillations.

Citations

• Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational-wave event
• CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA EQUATIONS OF STATE BASED ON NEUTRON STAR OBSERVATIONS

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