Nucleation of antikaon condensed matter in proto neutron stars

TL;DR

This paper studies how shear viscosity, especially due to neutrinos, influences the thermal nucleation process of antikaon condensed matter in proto neutron stars, impacting the phase transition dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces the effect of shear viscosity, including neutrino contributions, on the nucleation time of antikaon condensed matter in proto neutron stars.

Findings

Neutrino shear viscosity significantly affects nucleation times.

Shear viscosity alters the critical droplet formation conditions.

Neutrino transport plays a key role in phase transition dynamics.

Abstract

A first order phase transition from nuclear matter to antikaon condensed matter may proceed through thermal nucleation of a critical droplet of antikaon condensed matter during the early evolution of proto neutron stars (PNS). Droplets of new phase having radii larger than a critical radius would survive and grow, if the latent heat is transported from the droplet surface to the metastable phase. We investigate the effect of shear viscosity on the thermal nucleation time of the droplets of antikaon condensed matter. In this connection we particularly study the contribution of neutrinos in the shear viscosity and nucleation in PNS.