Neutrino opacity of neutron-star matter

Abstract

Scattering of neutrinos from neutron-star matter is calculated for the case of very high neutron-star temperatures, under the assumption of a neutral-current interaction of the form given by the Weinberg-Salam theory. The resulting neutrino opacity depends in an interesting way upon the equation of state of the matter. The maximum possible opacity of a thin layer of matter is estimated for the case of an arbitrary equation of state.