Production and inelastic scattering of neutrinos by nuclei at extreme temperatures

The role of neutrino interactions with nuclear states is investigated at high excitation energies during stellar collapse. Cross sections for inelastic scattering from nuclei are determined. These cross sections remain finite as the neutrino energy goes to zero, and for sufficiently high temperatures, the usual low energy window becomes totally closed. The rate of neutrino production form highly excited nuclear states is calculated. The resultant cooling from this process limits the temperature to approx.1010 K in the transparent regions during collapse. During collapse this process is dominant in producing neutrinos other than ν/sub e/. After neutrino trapping, since ν/sub e/ production is diminished, it becomes the dominant neutrino-production mechanism