Neutrino Emission From Inhomogeneous Pion Condensed Quark Matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates neutrino emission mechanisms in inhomogeneous pion condensed quark matter within neutron stars, providing insights into their cooling processes through detailed calculations of emissivity and heat capacity.

Contribution

It introduces the calculation of neutrino emission and cooling rates specifically for inhomogeneous LOFF states in pion condensed quark matter, a novel aspect in neutron star physics.

Findings

Neutrino emissivity is significantly affected by inhomogeneous pion condensates.

The cooling rate of neutron stars can be influenced by the presence of LOFF states.

Quantitative estimates of specific heat and neutrino emission in these phases are provided.

Abstract

It is believed that quark matter can exist in neutron star interior if the baryon density is high enough. When there is a large isospin density, quark matter could be in a pion condensed phase. We compute neutrino emission from direct Urca processes in such a phase, particularly in the inhomogeneous Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF) states. The neutrino emissivity and specific heat are obtained, from which the cooling rate is estimated.