Signals of the QCD phase transition in core-collapse supernovae

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the QCD phase transition during core-collapse supernovae can produce observable neutrino signals and influence supernova explosion dynamics, using relativistic simulations with the MIT bag model.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the QCD phase transition can generate a second shock wave and a distinct neutrino burst, providing potential observational signatures of quark matter in supernovae.

Findings

A second shock wave can trigger a delayed supernova explosion.

A second neutrino burst dominated by anti-neutrinos is predicted.

Observable neutrino signals could reveal the QCD phase transition in supernovae.

Abstract

We explore the implications of the QCD phase transition during the postbounce evolution of core-collapse supernovae. Using the MIT bag model for the description of quark matter and assuming small bag constants, we find that the phase transition occurs during the early postbounce accretion phase. This stage of the evolution can be simulated with general relativistic three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport. The phase transition produces a second shock wave that triggers a delayed supernova explosion. If such a phase transition happens in a future galactic supernova, its existence and properties should become observable as a second peak in the neutrino signal that is accompanied by significant changes in the energy of the emitted neutrinos. In contrast to the first neutronization burst, this second neutrino burst is dominated by the emission of anti-neutrinos because the electron-degeneracy is lifted when the second shock passes through the previously neutronized matter.