The Role of Nucleon Strangeness in Supernova Explosions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the impact of nucleon strangeness, specifically the strange helicity content, on supernova explosion mechanisms, concluding that current evidence suggests it has a negligible effect on the necessary physics.

Contribution

The study assesses recent theoretical and experimental data on nucleon strangeness and its implications for supernova explosion models, clarifying its limited role.

Findings

Nucleon strangeness has a small magnitude according to recent data.

Strangeness effects are insufficient to trigger supernova explosions.

Theoretical and experimental progress constrains the impact of nucleon strangeness.

Abstract

Recent hydrodynamical simulations of supernova (SN) evolution have highlighted the importance of a thorough control over microscopic physics responsible for such internal processes as neutrino heating. In particular, it has been suggested that modifications to the neutrino-nucleon elastic cross section can potentially play a crucial role in producing successful supernova explosions. One possible source of such corrections can be found in a nonzero value for the nucleon's strange helicity content $\Delta s$. In the present analysis, however, we show that theoretical and experimental progress over the past decade has suggested a comparatively small magnitude for $\Delta s$, such that its sole effect is not sufficient to provide the physics leading to supernova explosions.