Neutrinos and Their Impact on Core-Collapse Supernova Nucleosynthesis

Abstract

Core-collapse supernovae liberate an energy equivalent to the binding energy of the newly formed neutron star by emitting ∼1058 neutrinos of all flavors with typical energies of ∼10{\thinspace}MeV. These neutrinos are responsible for a matter outflow from the proto-neutron star known as the neutrino-driven wind. The nucleosynthesis in the wind is very sensitive to the proton-to-nucleon ratio that is determined by spectral differences between $ν$ e and $ν$ ̄ e $$\bar{u }_{e}$$ . Current simulations taking into account recent progress in the description of high-density neutrino- matter interactions predict very similar spectra for all neutrino flavors. Hence, the ejecta are mainly proton-rich during the whole deleptonization phase and allow for the operation of the $ν$p-process. As neutrinos travel through the stellar mantle, they can induce spallation reactions with abundant nuclei. This leads to the $ν$-process that synthesizes 11B, 19F, 138La, and 180Ta and enhances the yields of several long-lived radioactive nuclei. During their propagation, neutrinos can suffer flavor oscillations that can also potentially affect the nucleosynthesis in the ejecta.