Ms. O'Brien et Sd. Kawaler, The predicted signature of neutrino emission in observations of pulsating pre-white dwarf stars, ASTROPHYS J, 539(1), 2000, pp. 372-378
Pre-white dwarf (PWD) evolution can be driven by energy losses caused by ne
utrino emission in the core. Unlike the solar neutrino flux, this is not th
e by-product of nuclear fusion but is instead the result of electron-scatte
ring processes in the hot, dense regions of the PWD core. We show that the
observed rate of period change in cool PWD pulsators will constrain neutrin
o emission in their cores, and we identify appropriate targets for future o
bservation, Such a measurement will tell us whether the theories of lepton
interactions correctly describe the production rates and therefore neutrino
cooling of PWD evolution. This would represent the first test of standard
lepton theory in dense plasma.