The impact of neutrino magnetic moments on the evolution of massive stars

Abstract

We explore the sensitivity of massive stars to neutrino magnetic moments. We find that the additional cooling due to the neutrino magnetic moments brings about qualitative changes to the structure and evolution of stars in the mass window 7 M⊙ ≲ M ≲ 18 M⊙, rather than simply changing the timescales for the burning. We describe some of the consequences of this modified evolution: the shifts in the threshold masses for creating core-collapse supernovae and oxygen-neon-magnesium white dwarfs and the appearance of a new type of supernova in which a partial carbon-oxygen core explodes within a massive star. The resulting sensitivity to the magnetic moment is at the level of (2-4) × 10-11 μb. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.