Combustion of a neutron star into a strange quark star: The neutrino signal

TL;DR

This paper models the neutrino signals from the rapid conversion of neutron stars into strange quark stars, suggesting detectable neutrino emissions that could be linked to supernovae and gamma-ray bursts.

Contribution

It provides the first calculation of neutrino signals from three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of neutron star to strange star conversion.

Findings

Neutrino luminosity and duration are similar to protoneutron star signals.

The neutrino emission could be detectable for nearby galactic events.

Potential connection between strange star formation and explosive astrophysical phenomena.

Abstract

There are strong indications that the process of conversion of a neutron star into a strange quark star proceeds as a strong deflagration implying that in a few milliseconds almost the whole star is converted. Starting from the three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the combustion process which provide the temperature profiles inside the newly born strange star, we calculate for the first time the neutrino signal that is to be expected if such a conversion process takes place. The neutrino emission is characterized by a luminosity and a duration that is typical for the signal expected from protoneutron stars and represents therefore a powerful source of neutrinos which could be possibly directly detected in case of events occurring close to our Galaxy. We discuss moreover possible connections between the birth of strange stars and explosive phenomena such as supernovae and gamma-ray-bursts.