Welcome to the PSNS

Pre Supernova Neutrino Spectrum

Pre-supernova pair annihilation antineutrino spectrum data files

SN Ia neutrinos

PSNS is a collection of routines (and data tables generated with use of these routines) originally developed to get neutrino spectrum of the pre-supernova star prior to the core-collapse. Now project allows us to post-process numerous astrophysical objects producing approximate energy spectrum for all neutrino flavors (nue, nuebar, numu/tau) emitted from thermal: (pair-annihilation and plasmon decay) and weak nuclear (using FFN tables and NSE approximation) processes. While this list is not exhaustive, it allows for spectral neutrino emission studies for wide range of objects.

Main motivation for this project, started as early as 2001, was huge gap between advanced approach (used mainly in core-collapse simulation and solar neutrino problem) and very simple treatment of the neutrino emission in stellar evolution studies. Actually, even total integrated neutrino flux, flavor composition and mean energy of the emitted neutrinos are rarely available.

PSNS is developed mainly for postprocessing of already computed models. However, in future it would be desirable to include routines similar to PSNS directly into models. Main task for PSNS now is to determine which processes and nuclides contributing to spectral emission should be included in future simulations.

• neutrino-induced nucleosynthesis (nu-process)
• neutrino oscillations
• neutrino detection in terrestial experiments

PSNS can be used only for matter transparent to neutrinos. If neutrinos are trapped (in e.g. protoneutron stars) it will provide poor approximation, with potentially very large overestimate of the neutrino energy, e.g. in the center of the protoneutron star average neutrino energy reach hundred MeV or more. Actually, neutrinos diffuse slowly up to the surface and are emitted with much lower energies.