Nonequilibrium Processes in Kaon Condensation

Abstract

Relaxation in a kaon condensate proceeds through nonequilibrium weak reactions, which includes the kaon-induced Urca and the modified Urca reactions. The kinetics of a K^— condensate is considered semiclassically starting from a small seed of a condensate with the assumption that the system is in thermal equilibrium. It is shown that the temporal evolution to the K^—condensed phase in the kinetic regime is divided into several characteristic time intervals as a result of the interplay between the two major weak processes. The implications for the dynamical evolution of newly-born neutron stars are briefly discussed.