Pulsar Kicks with Electrons in Landau Levels
Leonard Kisslinger
Carnegie Mellon U.
During the time after a supernova explosion when the neutrino sphere is near the surface of the proto-neutron star, the electrons produced with antineutrinos are in Landau levels, due to the very strong magnetic field. As a result, we find that all emitted neutrinos are correlated along the direction of the magnetic field, giving the resulting pulsar a velocity--the pulsar kick. The key variable is the temperature at the surface of the proto-neutron star, with the kick velocity increasing with luminoscity, consistent with observations.