What can be learned from a future supernova neutrino detection?

TL;DR

This paper reviews the potential of future supernova neutrino detections to reveal detailed physics of stellar explosions and neutrino properties, emphasizing advancements in detector capabilities and theoretical understanding.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of expected neutrino signals, detector technologies, and physics signatures for future supernova observations, highlighting recent progress and prospects.

Findings

Current detectors can detect ~10,000 neutrinos from a Galactic supernova.

Next-generation detectors will increase detection yield by an order of magnitude.

Neutrino signals can reveal detailed information about supernova physics and neutrino properties.

Abstract

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the only supernova from which we have detected neutrinos - SN 1987A. The twenty or so neutrinos that were detected were mined to great depth in order to determine the events that occurred in the explosion and to place limits upon all manner of neutrino properties. Since 1987 the scale and sensitivity of the detectors capable of identifying neutrinos from a Galactic supernova have grown considerably so that current generation detectors are capable of detecting of order ten thousand neutrinos for a supernova at the Galactic Center. Next generation detectors will increase that yield by another order of magnitude. Simultaneous with the growth of neutrino detection capability, our understanding of how massive stars explode and how the neutrino interacts with hot and dense matter has also increased by a tremendous degree. The neutrino signal will contain much information on all manner of physics of interest to a wide community. In this review we describe the expected features of the neutrino signal, the detectors which will detect it, and the signatures one might try to look for in order to get at these physics.