Neutrino-“pasta” scattering: The opacity of nonuniform neutron-rich matter

Neutron-rich matter at subnuclear densities may involve complex structures displaying a variety of shapes, such as spherical, slablike, and∕or rodlike shapes. These phases of the nuclear pasta are expected to exist in the crust of neutron stars and in core-collapse supernovae. The dynamics of core-collapse supernovae is very sensitive to the interactions between neutrinos and nucleons∕nuclei. Indeed, neutrino excitation of the low-energy modes of the pasta may allow for a significant energy transfer to the nuclear medium, thereby reviving the stalled supernovae shock. The linear response of the nuclear pasta to neutrinos is modeled via a simple semiclassical simulation. The transport mean free path for $\ensuremath{\mu}$ and $\ensuremath{\tau}$ neutrinos (and antineutrinos) is expressed in terms of the static structure factor of the pasta, which is evaluated using Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations.