Equilibrium constants of nuclear reactions in supernova explosions

TL;DR

This paper investigates the equilibrium constants of nuclear reactions during supernova explosions, focusing on the rotational energy changes in proton-neutron transformations within collapsing stellar cores.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to estimate rotational energy changes in {eta}-decay reactions during supernovae, considering protons and neutrons as triatomic rotors.

Findings

Estimated energy changes for various conditions

Comparison of rotational energy change to supernova energy release

Insights into nuclear reaction energetics in stellar collapse

Abstract

We study the change in internal rotational energy in the transformation of protons to neutrons in the \b{eta}-decay reactions that take place in the collapse of the iron core of massive stars that precede type II supernova explosions. We consider an ensemble of electrons, protons, neutrons and neutrinos undergoing \b{eta}-decay reactions, treat the protons and neutrons as triatomic rotors, evaluate the equilibrium constant to obtain the change in rotational energy during the proton-to-neutron transformation. We estimate such change for a variety of conditions, and compare to the energy released in a supernova explosion.