Influence of magnetic field on beta-processes in supernova matter

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how magnetic fields influence beta-processes in supernova matter, providing analytical expressions and concluding that effects are minimal at typical astrophysical magnetic field strengths.

Contribution

It offers new analytical formulas for beta-process reaction rates in supernova conditions and assesses their significance in strong magnetic fields.

Findings

Magnetic fields of ~10^{15} G cause only a few percent change in beta-process rates.

Magnetic effects on neutrino interactions in supernova matter are negligible at realistic field strengths.

Results are applicable to accretion disks in binary systems.

Abstract

An influence of a magnetic field on beta-processes is investigated under conditions of a core-collapse supernova. For realistic magnetic fields reachable in astrophysical objects we obtain simple analytical expressions for reaction rates of beta-processes as well as the energy and momentum transferred from neutrinos and antineutrinos to the matter. Based on the results of one-dimensional simulations of a supernova explosion, we found that, in the magnetic field with the strength $B \sim 10^{15}$ G, the quantities considered are modified by a few percents only and, as a consequence, the magnetic-field effects can be safely neglected, considering neutrino interaction and propagation in a supernova matter. The analytical results can be also applied for accretion discs formed at a merger of compact objects in close binary systems.