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Neutrino flux from collisions of red giant cores in globular clusters

Phys. Rev. D 114, 083027 – Published 13 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/kjkf-x79r

Abstract

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 smoothed-particle hydrodynamics simulations of the final inspiral phase, we develop a semianalytical model to estimate the amount of hydrogen mixed into the cores, the energy release (≈4.28×1049  erg) that heats the remnant to Tf≈5.3×108  K, the magnetic field amplification (B≈1.77×1010  G), and the resulting neutrino flux. The predicted TeV–PeV neutrino signal may contribute to the diffuse IceCube neutrino flux; we estimate that the horizon at which a single neutrino event is expected on average at ≳100  TeV is ≈55  kpc for individual merger events. 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 F18 offer a direct observational test of the detonation, (as sources within ∼4.4  pc would produce a neutrino flux exceeding the solar CNO neutrino background). The simultaneous emission of high-energy hadronic neutrinos, gravitational waves, and—if the optical depth permits (τT∼1014 in the core of the remnant)—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.

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