Two-photon production of neutrinos as a factor in supernova formation

The reaction in which a neutrino-antineutrino pair is produced by the annihilation of two photons is suggested as having a strong influence on the formation of supernovae. Results of calculations in two different non-local theories of the weak interaction are given, which become identical if the different heavy particles in the two theories have a common mass just below 20 GeV. Use of the consequent single expression for neutrino luminosity in astrophysical models is recommended because of its unique ability to distinguish between local and non-local theories in particle physics, and to indicate whether there is a chance of removing divergences from non-local theories. Specific effects of the two-photon reaction on general models of the formation of supernovae are pointed out. In particular, the maximum mass of a star which can turn into a supernova may be quite low, and the fraction of mass ejected as cosmic rays may be increased significantly over the fraction in models without two-photon annihilation.