"SPECIAL PARTICLE PHYSICS SEMINAR: Stellar Particle Physics"

 

ABSTRACT:  

 

For a particle physicist, stellar interiors represent unique laboratories, sensitive to very rare processes. For example, it is well known that neutrino emission, despite the weakness of the relevant interaction (in fact, because of it!), dominates the advanced stages of stellar evolution. The same argument extends to new physics scenarios with light, weakly interacting particles, of which the axion is a prime example. But how does one know what type of stars to use for constraints? As will be shown in the talk, the answer to this question is less than trivial. In particular, massive stars, previously thought to be useless for particle physics, turn out to be the most sensitive known probes of the axion-photon coupling. Time permitting, I will also mention a few recent developments in our understanding of neutrino oscillations in supernova.