2014/05/31 by MacKenzie Warren, MacKenzie L. Warren, Matthew Meixner +4
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Cosmic neutrino background #Galaxy #Luminosity #Measurements of neutrino speed #Mixing (physics) #Neutrino #Neutrino Physics Research #Neutrino detector #Neutrino oscillation #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #Solar neutrino #Solar neutrino problem #Sterile neutrino #Supernova #Type II supernova #astro-ph.HE #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.90.103007
published as Physical Review D 90, 103007 (2014)
arxiv created 2014/10/17 · openalex publication_date 2014/11/18 · arxiv updated 2014/12/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We have made core-collapse supernova simulations that allow oscillations between electron neutrinos (or their antiparticles) with right-handed sterile neutrinos. We have considered a range of mixing angles and sterile neutrino masses including those consistent with sterile neutrinos as a dark matter candidate. We examine whether such oscillations can impact the core bounce and shock reheating in supernovae. We identify the optimum ranges of mixing angles and masses that can dramatically enhance the supernova explosion by efficiently transporting electron antineutrinos from the core to behind the shock, where they provide additional heating leading to much larger explosion kinetic energies. We show that this effect can cause stars to explode that otherwise would have collapsed. We find that an interesting periodicity in the neutrino luminosity develops due to a cycle of depletion of the neutrino density by conversion to sterile neutrinos that shuts off the conversion, followed by a replenished neutrino density as neutrinos transport through the core.