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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22419 |
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| _version_ | 1866917358479605760 |
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| author | Rodríguez, Cecilia Romero Seoane, Pau Amaro |
| author_facet | Rodríguez, Cecilia Romero Seoane, Pau Amaro |
| contents | The coalescence of degenerate helium cores during red giant collisions - a process we term erythrohenosis - introduces a novel class of transient astrophysical sources of high-energy neutrinos. Using stellar models generated with MESA and SPH simulations of the final inspiral phase, we develop a semi-analytical model to estimate the amount of hydrogen mixed into the cores, the energy release ($\approx 4.28 \times 10^{49}$ erg) that heats the remnant to $T_f \approx 5.3 \times 10^8$ K, the magnetic field amplification ($B \approx 1.77 \times 10^{10}$ G), and the resulting neutrino flux. We find that the predicted TeV--PeV neutrino signal can account for the diffuse neutrino flux observed by IceCube and demonstrate that a single merger event within $\sim 2$ Mpc would be detectable in this energy regime. Furthermore, we discuss the probability of a magnetized helium flash and assess the subsequent activation of the CNO cycle in the remnant core due to hydrogen mixing. In particular, neutrinos from the decay of $^{18}$F offer a direct observational test of the detonation. The simultaneous emission of high-energy hadronic neutrinos, gravitational waves, and -- if the optical depth permits -- an electromagnetic signal would constitute a unique multimessenger signature of red giant core collisions, positioning erythrohenosis events as exotic yet potentially observable phenomena in dense stellar systems. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_22419 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Crimson Kiss of Two Giants: Helium Detonation and High-Energy Neutrino Production Rodríguez, Cecilia Romero Seoane, Pau Amaro High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology The coalescence of degenerate helium cores during red giant collisions - a process we term erythrohenosis - introduces a novel class of transient astrophysical sources of high-energy neutrinos. Using stellar models generated with MESA and SPH simulations of the final inspiral phase, we develop a semi-analytical model to estimate the amount of hydrogen mixed into the cores, the energy release ($\approx 4.28 \times 10^{49}$ erg) that heats the remnant to $T_f \approx 5.3 \times 10^8$ K, the magnetic field amplification ($B \approx 1.77 \times 10^{10}$ G), and the resulting neutrino flux. We find that the predicted TeV--PeV neutrino signal can account for the diffuse neutrino flux observed by IceCube and demonstrate that a single merger event within $\sim 2$ Mpc would be detectable in this energy regime. Furthermore, we discuss the probability of a magnetized helium flash and assess the subsequent activation of the CNO cycle in the remnant core due to hydrogen mixing. In particular, neutrinos from the decay of $^{18}$F offer a direct observational test of the detonation. The simultaneous emission of high-energy hadronic neutrinos, gravitational waves, and -- if the optical depth permits -- an electromagnetic signal would constitute a unique multimessenger signature of red giant core collisions, positioning erythrohenosis events as exotic yet potentially observable phenomena in dense stellar systems. |
| title | The Crimson Kiss of Two Giants: Helium Detonation and High-Energy Neutrino Production |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22419 |