neutrinodriven

Neutrinodriven is an adjective used in physics to describe phenomena in which neutrinos directly supply the energy or momentum that drives a process. In astrophysics, the term is most commonly applied to core-collapse supernovae and their aftermath, where neutrinos radiate from a hot, newly formed proto-neutron star and interact with surrounding matter.

In the immediate post-bounce phase, neutrinos heat the region behind the stalled shock. Through charged-current interactions, electron neutrinos and antineutrinos deposit energy by converting neutrons to protons and vice versa. This neutrino heating, together with hydrodynamic instabilities such as convection and the standing accretion shock instability (SASI), can revive the stalled shock and power an explosion. The efficiency of this neutrino-driven mechanism depends on neutrino luminosities, spectra, and the multidimensional fluid dynamics of the supernova environment.

As the proto-neutron star cools, continued neutrino emission drives a wind from its surface. This neutrino-driven wind can eject material with varying electron fraction and entropy, influencing nucleosynthesis. In some models, conditions in the wind may contribute to the synthesis of heavy elements through the r-process or other capture processes, though the exact yields depend on the neutrino spectra and the neutron-richness of the outflow.

Terminology and usage. While "neutrinodriven" is common in astrophysics, the term is sometimes used interchangeably with "neutrino heating-driven" to emphasize the energy deposition mechanism rather than other neutrino effects, such as lepton-number transport.