Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Scientific Correspondence
  • Published:

Neutrinos from the recent LMC supernova

Nature volume 326, pages 135–136 (1987)Cite this article

SIR - The supernova explosion that was observed recently1 in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides a unique opportunity to test the theory of neutron star formation in Type II supernova explosions. In particular, one can investigate the prediction that almost all of the gravitational binding energy of the residue neutron star (~3xl053 erg) was radiated within a few seconds in the form of ~1058 neutrinos with average energy ~10-15 MeV. Here, we calculate the expected neutrino signals in terrestrial detectors which, according to the standard supernova theory2"10, should have been observed during a short period (~1 s) before the onset of the optical supernova. (A measurement of the time delay between the first neutrino and optical pulses would be of great importance for our understanding of supernovae.) We also show how information on the fundamental properties of neutrinos (their life-times, masses and mixings, and their magnetic moments) can be obtained from neutrino observations of the LMC supernova. The number of neutrino-induced events in a terrestrial detector due to differential fluxes d0/d£ of neutrinos of types v, (v,=v,, vf, v,,, \v, VT, vt) is given by

where n. is the number of particles of type/ (atomic nuclei and electrons) in the target and 0(7) are their cross-sections for relevant reactions which depend on the neutrino type and on the neutrino energy.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kunkel, W. & Madore, B. Astr. Circ. 4316 February 24 (1987).

  2. Colgate, S.A. & White, R.H. Astrophys. J. 143, 626 (1966).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bethe, H.A. et al. Nucl. Phys. A324, 487 (1979).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Bludman, S. et al. Astrophys. J. 261, 611 (1982).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bowers, R.L. & Wilson, J.R. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 50, 115 (1982).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Arnett, W.D. Astrophys. J. 263, L55 (1983).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Wilson, J.R. Numerical Astrophysics (eds Centrella, J. et al.) 422 (Jones & Bartlett, Boston, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bethe, H.A. & Wilson, J.R. Astrophys. J. 295, 14 (1985).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Burrows, A. & Lattimer, J.M. Astrophys. J. 299, L19 (1985).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Wilson, J.R. et al. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 470, 267 (1986).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bahcall, J.N. Rev. mod. Phys. 50, 881 (1978).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Beier, E.W. in Proc. 7th Workshop on Grand Unification, ICOBAN April 1986, Toyama, Japan.

  13. Cherry, M., Fowler, W.A. & Lande, K. (eds) AIP Conf. Proc. No. 126 32 (American Institute of Physics, New York, 1985).

  14. Badino, G. et al. Nouv. Cim. C7, 273 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Davis, R. Jr . Proc. 7th Workshop on Grand Unification, ICOBAN April 1986, Toyama, Japan.

  16. Bahcall, J.N. & Davis, R. Jr Science 191, 264 (1976).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Bahcall, J.N., Petcov, S.T., Toshav, S. & Valle, J.W.F. Phys. Lett. (1986).

  18. Mikheyev, S.P. & Smirnov, A. Yu Nouv. Cim. C9, 229 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Dar, A. Phys. Rev. Lett. (submitted).

  20. Cowsik, R. Phys. Rev. Lett. 39, 784 (1977).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Falk, S. & Schramm, D.N. Phys. Lett. B79, 511 (1978).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Dar, A., Goodman, J. & Nussinor, S. Astrophys. J. (in the press).

  23. Shapiro, S.L. & Teukolsky, S.A. Black Holes, White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars (Wiley, New York, 1983).

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA https://www.nature.com/nature

    J. N. BAHCALL

  2. Racah Institute for Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel https://www.nature.com/nature

    A. DAR

  3. Department of Physics and Space, Technion, Haifa, Israel https://www.nature.com/nature

    T. PIRAN

  4. Present address: The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA. https://www.nature.com/nature

    A. DAR & T. PIRAN

Authors
  1. J. N. BAHCALL
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. DAR
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. T. PIRAN
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

BAHCALL, J., DAR, A. & PIRAN, T. Neutrinos from the recent LMC supernova. Nature 326, 135–136 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/326135a0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/326135a0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing