Participant List
Aristotle Socrates (UC Santa Barbara)

The Neutrino Bubble Instability in ProtoNeutron Stars

In order to explain their observed proper motion, neutron stars are thought to be born with kicks. In the first ten seconds of the post-bounce era, roughly 99% of the neutron star's binding energy is radiated away in the form of neutrinos. An asymmetry in the neutrino emission of order a few percent will endow the the neutron star with the needed momentum, allowing for a kick. We propose that a "neutrino bubble" instability, similar to the well known photon bubble instability, may be the mechanism which leads to anisotropic neutrino emission. Like the photon bubble instability, the presence of magnetic fields is required as well as a destabilizing neutrino flux.

Talk Slides (pdf)