Neutrino propagation in color superconducting quark matter - art. no. 103002

We calculate the neutrino mean free path in color superconducting quark mat ter, and employ it to study the cooling of matter via neutrino diffusion in the superconducting phase as compared to a free quark phase. The cooling p rocess slows when quark matter undergoes a second order phase transition to a superconducting phase at the critical temperature T-c. Cooling subsequen tly accelerates as the temperature decreases below T-c. This will directly impact the early evolution of a newly born neutron star, should its core co ntain quark matter. Consequently, there may be observable changes in the ea rly neutrino emission which would provide evidence for superconductivity in hot and dense matter. [S0556-2821(00)07320-3].