Detection possibility of the pair-annihilation neutrinos from the neutrino-cooled pre-supernova star

A. Odrzywolek; M. Misiaszek; M. Kutschera

doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2004.02.002

paper

Detection possibility of the pair-annihilation neutrinos from the neutrino-cooled pre-supernova star

arXiv:astro-ph/0311012 · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2004.02.002

Abstract

The signal produced in neutrino observatories by the pair-annihilation neutrinos emitted from a 20 $M_{⊙}$ pre-supernova star at the silicon burning phase is estimated. The spectrum of the neutrinos with an average energy $\sim$ 2 MeV is calculated with the use of the Monte Carlo method. A few relevant reactions for neutrinos and anti-neutrinos in modern detectors are considered. The most promising results are from $ν ˉ_{e} + p ⟶ n + e^{+}$ reaction. During the Si-burning phase we expect 1.27 neutrons/day/kiloton of water to be produced by neutrinos from a star located at a distance of 1 kpc. Small admixture of effective neutron-absorbers as e.g. NaCl or GdCl $_{3}$ makes these neutrons easily visible because of Cherenkov light produced by electrons which were hit by $\sim$ 8 MeV photon cascade emitted by Cl or Gd nuclei. The estimated rate of neutron production for SNO and Super-Kamiokande is, respectively, 2.2 and 41 events per day for a star at 1 kpc. For future detectors UNO and Hyper-Kamiokande we expect 5.6 and 6.9 events per day even for a star 10 kpc away. This would make it possible to foresee a massive star death a few days before its core collapse. Importance of such a detection for theoretical astrophysics is discussed.

18 pages, 2 figures, 5 tables, Astoparticle Physics: accepted for publication

Detection possibility of the pair-annihilation neutrinos from the neutrino-cooled pre-supernova star

Abstract

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