Gradient-Produced Neutrinos

TL;DR

The paper proposes that steep matter-density gradients in neutron stars could produce neutrino-antineutrino pairs via an analog of the Schwinger effect, offering new ways to probe neutron-star structure.

Contribution

It introduces the idea that matter-density gradients in neutron stars can generate neutrino pairs, extending the Schwinger effect to baryon-dense astrophysical environments.

Findings

Neutron star density gradients may produce detectable neutrino-antineutrino pairs.

Such neutrino production could serve as a new observational probe of neutron-star interiors.

Theoretical framework connecting density gradients to neutrino pair creation.

Abstract

Sufficiently strong electric fields can produce charged-particle pairs via the Schwinger effect. We argue that steep matter-density gradients, as can arise in neutron star interiors, would analogously produce neutrino-antineutrino pairs. We then discuss observational signatures of these gradient-produced (anti)neutrinos and how they could provide new probes of neutron-star structure and baryon-dense QCD.