Nucleation of quark matter in protoneutron star matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the nucleation of quark matter in hot, lepton-rich supernova matter could rapidly trigger a phase transition, potentially influencing supernova explosion mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides a detailed calculation of the thermal nucleation rate of quark matter droplets in supernova conditions, highlighting its possible impact on supernova dynamics.

Findings

Quark matter nucleation can occur rapidly in supernova environments.

The phase transition may significantly affect supernova explosion mechanisms.

Nucleation rates depend on physical parameters like temperature and density.

Abstract

The phase transition from hadronic to quark matter may take place already during the early post-bounce stage of core collapse supernovae when matter is still hot and lepton rich. If the phase transition is of first order and exhibits a barrier, the formation of the new phase occurs via the nucleation of droplets. We investigate the thermal nucleation of a quark phase in supernova matter and calculate its rate for a wide range of physical parameters. We show that the formation of the first droplet of a quark phase might be very fast and therefore the phase transition to quark matter could play an important role in the mechanism and dynamics of supernova explosions.