Revisiting neutrino-driven magnetogenesis during stellar core collapse

TL;DR

This paper reevaluates the neutrino-driven magnetogenesis mechanism during stellar core collapse, using modern models to assess its viability for pulsar magnetic field generation, and finds it likely less effective than previously thought.

Contribution

It provides a modern reassessment of the neutrino ponderomotive force mechanism for pulsar magnetogenesis, incorporating realistic core collapse dynamics.

Findings

The mechanism is less powerful than earlier estimates.

Modern technology reduces the predicted magnetic field strength.

The viability of neutrino-driven magnetogenesis is questioned.

Abstract

The literature has not converged onto a precise depiction of the magnetogenesis process for pulsars, and it is profitable to preliminarily but exhaustively assess the viability of the plethora of alternative proposals, before substantial efforts are invested into simulating them in detail. In this note, we tackle one of them, taking notice of an earlier work that suggests neutrino ponderomotive force could spawn a magnetic field not so far off from pulsar strengths. We reexamine this mechanism with more modern technology, accounting for actual core collapse dynamics, and show that this mechanism is likely less powerful than originally envisioned.