Core-collapse supernovae: Nature's laboratory for particle physics

Astronomers have long relied upon particle physicists to understand the observable universe, from the Big Bang to stars such as our own Sun. In the past, the transfer of knowledge between astronomers and particle physicists has been in one direction with particle physicists providing astronomers the essential information to understand their observations. But observations of astronomical phenomena can be used to help our understanding of particle physics as well. Because of the extreme densities and temperatures which occur in neutron stars and the outbursts that make them (core-collapse supernovae), astronomers can use the objects to probe aspects of particle physics. During the collapse of a massive star (the formation process of neutron stars), the stellar core reaches densities in excess of 4 x 10(14) g cm(-3) and temperatures above 100 MeV, conditions where kaon condensation may well play an important role. The advantage of using astronomical phenomena as physical laboratories is that they are cheap. Nature will not charge our dwindling NSF grants to produce supernovae. Unfortunately, nature also won't allow us to actively control these explosions either. This makes it extremely difficult to determine fundamental properties of particle physics from astronomy observations. Can neutron stars and supernovae probe kaon condensation? Below I will discuss why I think that, in the future, the link between astronomy and particle physics (and in particular, supernovae and kaon condensation) will become much more of a two-way street, where astronomical observations can provide insight into particle physics.