Fourth-order self-energy of a neutron star due to massive neutrino exchange

Journal Article · Thu Mar 15 04:00:00 EST 2001 · Physical Review D

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.63.065006· OSTI ID:40205071

Woodahl, Brian; Fischbach, Ephraim

We calculate the self-energy of a neutron star to fourth-order in the Fermi constant G{sub F}, arising from neutrino exchange to one loop. We assume the neutron star is comprised entirely of neutrons and use the low-energy Lagrangian describing the interaction between neutrons and massive Dirac neutrinos. The calculation presented here derives from a more rigorous formalism than that used in previous work on the four-body self-energy, and consequently the results differ slightly. We have determined that the fourth-order self-energy, like the recently calculated second-order self-energy, is positive and dependent on the neutron-neutron hard core radius. Importantly, we also show that the fourth-order contribution is greater than the second order. We further demonstrate that, in contrast with the recently calculated vacuum energy shift in which the neutron field is taken to be external, the four-body self-energy decreases in magnitude as the neutrino mass is increased. This decrease of the self-energy as the neutrino mass increases was also the case in the second-order self-energy. The implications of these new findings are discussed.

• Sponsoring Organization: (US)
• OSTI ID: 40205071
• Journal Information: Physical Review D, Journal Name: Physical Review D Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 63; ISSN 0556-2821
• Publisher: The American Physical Society
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
FERMI INTERACTIONS
LAGRANGIAN FUNCTION
NEUTRINOS
NEUTRON STARS
NEUTRONS
SELF-ENERGY