Exploiting the neutronization burst of a galactic supernova -: art. no. 063003

One of the robust features found in simulations of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) is the prompt neutronization burst, i.e., the first similar to 25 milliseconds after bounce when the SN emits with very high luminosity mainly nu(e) neutrinos. We examine the dependence of this burst on variations in the input of current SN models and find that recent improvements of the electron capture rates as well as uncertainties in the nuclear equation of state or a variation of the progenitor mass have only little effect on the signature of the neutronization peak in a megaton water Cherenkov detector for different neutrino mixing schemes. We show that exploiting the time structure of the neutronization peak allows one to identify the case of a normal mass hierarchy and large 13-mixing angle theta(13), where the peak is absent. The robustness of the predicted total event number in the neutronization burst makes a measurement of the distance to the SN feasible with a precision of about 5%, even in the likely case that the SN is optically obscured.