EFFECTS OF ELECTRON BAND-STRUCTURE ON NEUTRINO PAIR BREMSSTRAHLUNG INNEUTRON-STAR CRUSTS

We calculate the rate of energy emission by bremsstrahlung of neutrino pairs by electrons moving in the crystalline lattice of ions in dense matter in the crust of a neutron star. Since the periodic potential i n the solid gives rise to electronic band gaps which can be as large a s about 1 MeV, it is necessary in estimating the bremsstrahlung rate a t low temperatures to take into account band structure in detail. We f ind that, in the densest parts of the inner crust of a neutron star, n eutrino emission at temperatures of about 2 X 10(9) K or less is much suppressed compared with earlier estimates that treated the electron-l attice interaction perturbatively, and conclude that neutrino pair bre msstrahlung by electrons in the crusts of neutron stars is much less i mportant for neutron star thermal evolution than was previously though t. [S0556-2821(97)01322-2].