Abstract
We explore the abundance of light clusters in core-collapse supernovae at post-bounce stage in a quantum statistical approach. Adopting the profile of a supernova core from detailed numerical simulations, we study the distribution of light bound clusters up to α particles () as well as heavy nuclei () in dense matter at finite temperature. Within the frame of a cluster-mean-field approach, the abundances of light clusters are evaluated accounting for self-energy, Pauli blocking, and effects of continuum correlations. We find that deuterons and tritons, in addition to and , appear abundantly in a wide region from the surface of the proto-neutron star to the position of the shock wave. The appearance of light clusters may modify the neutrino emission in the cooling region and the neutrino absorption in the heating region and, thereby, influence the supernova mechanism.
- Received 30 December 2007
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.77.055804
©2008 American Physical Society