The Impact of Neutrino Magnetic Moments on the Evolution of Massive Stars

TL;DR

This paper investigates how neutrino magnetic moments influence the evolution of massive stars, revealing significant structural and evolutionary changes, including new supernova phenomena, at very small magnetic moment levels.

Contribution

It introduces the first detailed analysis of neutrino magnetic moments' effects on massive star evolution, highlighting qualitative changes and new supernova types.

Findings

Neutrino magnetic moments cause qualitative structural changes in stars.

Threshold masses for supernovae and white dwarfs shift due to magnetic moments.

A new supernova type emerges with partial core explosion.

Abstract

We explore the sensitivity of massive stars to neutrino magnetic moments. We find that the additional cooling due to the neutrino magnetic moments bring about qualitative changes to the structure and evolution of stars in the mass window 7 Msun < M < 18 Msun, rather than simply changing the time scales 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} \mu_B.