Burning of two-flavor quark matter into strange matter in neutron stars and in supernova cores

Assuming a first-order phase transition from nuclear to quark matter in neutron stars and in supernova cores, we have studied the phase transition from two-flavor quark matter to strange matter. This transition has bearing: on the cooling of neutron stars and may lead to observable signals in the form of a second neutrino burst. In the case of transition occurring in a supernova core, it has the effect of raising the core temperature and the energy of the shock wave and thus affecting the evolution of the core. In this study we have systematically taken into account the effect of strong interactions perturbatively to order alpha(c) and the effect of finite temperature and strange quark mass.