Pre-Supernova (Anti)Neutrino Emission Due to Weak-Interaction Reactions with Hot Nuclei

Reliable predictions of (anti)neutrino spectra and luminosities are essential for assessing the feasibility of detecting pre-supernova neutrinos. Using the stellar evolution code MESA, we calculate the (anti)neutrino spectra and luminosities under realistic conditions of temperature, density, and electron fraction. Our study includes (anti)neutrinos produced by both thermal processes and nuclear weak-interaction reactions. By comparing the results of the thermal quasiparticle random-phase approximation with the standard technique based on the effective Q-value method, we investigate how thermal effects influence the spectra and luminosities of emitted (anti)neutrinos. Our findings show that a thermodynamically consistent treatment of Gamow–Teller transitions in hot nuclei enhances both the energy luminosity and the average energies of the emitted (anti)neutrinos.