Neutrino mixing in nuclear rapid neutron-capture processes

TL;DR

This paper investigates how neutrino mixing, including active and sterile neutrinos, influences beta-decay rates and consequently affects the formation of heavy elements in supernovae through the r-process.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed calculation of electroweak decay rates considering neutrino mixing, impacting nucleosynthesis predictions in supernova environments.

Findings

Neutrino mixing alters beta-decay rates significantly.

Heavy element abundances are affected by active-sterile neutrino mixing.

Results suggest neutrino properties influence supernova nucleosynthesis.

Abstract

A possible mechanism for the formation of heavy-mass elements in supernovae is the rapid neutron-capture-mechanism (r-process). It depends upon the electron-fraction $Y_e$, a quantity which is determined by beta-decay-rates. In this paper, we focus on the calculation of electroweak decay-rates in presence of massive neutrinos. The resulting expressions are then used to calculate nuclear reactions entering the rapid-neutron capture. We fix the astrophysical parameters to the case of a core-collapse supernova. The neutrino sector includes a mass scheme and mixing angles for active neutrinos, and also by including the mixing between active and sterile neutrinos. The results of the calculations show that the predicted abundances of heavy-mass nuclei are indeed affected by the neutrino mixing.