945 research outputs found
Supernova Neutrino Opacity from Nucleon-Nucleon Bremsstrahlung and Related Processes
Elastic scattering on nucleons, \nu N -> N \nu, is the dominant supernova
(SN) opacity source for \mu and \tau neutrinos. The dominant energy- and
number-changing processes were thought to be \nu e^- -> e^- \nu and \nu\bar \nu
e^+ e^- until Suzuki (1993) showed that the bremsstrahlung process \nu\bar
\nu NN NN was actually more important. We find that for energy exchange,
the related ``inelastic scattering process'' \nu NN NN \nu is even more
effective by about a factor of 10. A simple estimate implies that the \nu_\mu
and \nu_\tau spectra emitted during the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling phase are much
closer to that of \nu\bar_e than had been thought previously. To facilitate a
numerical study of the spectra formation we derive a scattering kernel which
governs both bremsstrahlung and inelastic scattering and give an analytic
approximation formula. We consider only neutron-neutron interactions, we use a
one-pion exchange potential in Born approximation, nonrelativistic neutrons,
and the long-wavelength limit, simplifications which appear justified for the
surface layers of a SN core. We include the pion mass in the potential and we
allow for an arbitrary degree of neutron degeneracy. Our treatment does not
include the neutron-proton process and does not include nucleon-nucleon
correlations. Our perturbative approach applies only to the SN surface layers,
i.e. to densities below about 10^{14} g cm^{-3}.Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX, 6 postscript figs included, matches version accepted
for publication in Astrophysical Journa
Numerical Toy-Model Calculation of the Nucleon Spin Autocorrelation Function in a Supernova Core
We develop a simple model for the evolution of a nucleon spin in a hot and
dense nuclear medium. A given nucleon is limited to one-dimensional motion in a
distribution of external, spin-dependent scattering potentials. We calculate
the nucleon spin autocorrelation function numerically for a variety of
potential densities and distributions which are meant to bracket realistic
conditions in a supernova core. For all plausible configurations the width of
the spin-density structure function is found to be less than the temperature.
This is in contrast with a naive perturbative calculation based on the one-pion
exchange potential which overestimates the width and thus suggests a large
suppression of the neutrino opacities by nucleon spin fluctuations. Our results
suggest that it may be justified to neglect the collisional broadening of the
spin-density structure function for the purpose of estimating the neutrino
opacities in the deep inner core of a supernova. On the other hand, we find no
indication that processes such as axion or neutrino pair emission, which depend
on nucleon spin fluctuations, are substantially suppressed beyond the
multiple-scattering effect already discussed in the literature. Aside from
these practical conclusions, our model reveals a number of interesting and
unexpected insights. For example, the spin-relaxation rate saturates with
increasing potential strength only if bound states are not allowed to form by
including a repulsive core. There is no saturation with increasing density of
scattering potentials until localized eigenstates of energy begin to form.Comment: 14 latex pages in two-column format, 15 postscript figures included,
uses revtex.sty and epsf.sty. Submitted to Physical Review
Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Nuclei from Individual Magnetized Sources
We investigate the dependence of composition, spectrum and angular
distributions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays above 10^19 eV from individual
sources on their magnetization. We find that, especially for sources within a
few megaparsecs from the observer, observable spectra and composition are
severely modified if the source is surrounded by fields of ~ 10^-7 Gauss on
scales of a few megaparsecs. Low energy particles diffuse over larger distances
during their energy loss time. This leads to considerable hardening of the
spectrum up to the energy where the loss distance becomes comparable to the
source distance. Magnetized sources thus have very important consequences for
observations, even if cosmic rays arrive within a few degrees from the source
direction. At the same time, details in spectra and chemical composition may be
intrinsically unpredictable because they depend on the unknown magnetic field
structure. If primaries are predominantly nuclei of atomic mass A accelerated
up to a maximum energy E_max with spectra not much softer than E^-2, secondary
protons from photo-disintegration can produce a conspicuous peak in the
spectrum at energy ~ E_max/A. A related feature appears in the average mass
dependence on energy.Comment: 15 pages, 16 ps figures, published version with minor changes, see
http://stacks.iop.org/1475-7516/2004/i=08/a=01
A Cosmic Battery
We show that the Poynting-Robertson drag effect in an optically thin
advection-dominated accretion flow around active gravitating objects generates
strong azimuthal electric currents which give rise to astrophysically
significant magnetic fields. Although the mechanism is most effective in
accreting compact objects, it seems very promising to also account for the
generation of stellar dipolar fields during the late protostellar collapse
phase, when the star approaches the main sequence.Comment: 12 pages Latex, 1 postscript figure, to appear in the Astrophysical
Journa
Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays in a Structured and Magnetized Universe
We simulate propagation of cosmic ray nucleons above 10^{19} eV in scenarios
where both the source distribution and magnetic fields within about 50 Mpc from
us are obtained from an unconstrained large scale structure simulation. We find
that consistency of predicted sky distributions with current data above 4 x
10^{19} eV requires magnetic fields of ~0.1 microGauss in our immediate
environment, and a nearby source density of ~10^{-4}-10^{-3} Mpc^{-3}. Radio
galaxies could provide the required sources, but only if both high and
low-luminosity radio galaxies are very efficient cosmic ray accelerators.
Moreover, at ~10^{19} eV an additional isotropic flux component, presumably of
cosmological origin, should dominate over the local flux component by about a
factor three in order to explain the observed isotropy. This argues against the
scenario in which local astrophysical sources of cosmic rays above ~10^{19} eV
reside in strongly magnetized (B~0.1 microGauss) and structured intergalactic
medium. Finally we discuss how future large scale full-sky detectors such as
the Pierre Auger project will allow to put much more stringent constraints on
source and magnetic field distributions.Comment: 11 revtex pages, 10 postscript figures included, final version to
appear in PR
Self-Maintained Coherent Oscillations in Dense Neutrino Gases
We present analytical solutions to the nonlinear equations describing the
behavior of a gas of neutrinos with two flavors. Self-maintained coherent
flavor oscillations are shown to occur when the gas density exceeds a critical
value determined by the neutrino masses and the mean neutrino energy in the
gas. Similar oscillations may have occurred in the early Universe.Comment: To appear in Physical Review D, July 199
The Role of Small to Moderate Volcanic Eruptions in the Early 19th Century Climate
Small-to-moderate volcanic eruptions can lead to significant surface cooling when they occur clustered, as observed in recent decades. In this study, based on new high-resolution ice-core data from Greenland, we produce a new volcanic forcing data set that includes several small-to-moderate eruptions not included in prior reconstructions and investigate their climate impacts of the early 19th century through ensemble simulations with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model. We find that clustered small-to-moderate eruptions produce significant additional global surface cooling (∼0.07 K) during the period 1812–1820, superposing with the cooling by large eruptions in 1809 (unidentified location) and 1815 (Tambora). This additional cooling helps explain the reconstructed long-lasting cooling after the large eruptions, but simulated regional impacts cannot be confirmed with reconstructions due to a low signal-to-noise ratio. This study highlights the importance of small-to-moderate eruptions for climate simulations as their impacts can be comparable with that of solar irradiance changes
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