Temperature dependence of nuclear spin-isospin response and beta decay in hot astrophysical environments

A microscopic approach to the proton-neutron nuclear response is formulated in the finite-temperature relativistic nuclear field theory framework. The approach is based on the meson-nucleon Lagrangian of quantum hadrodynamics and advances the relativistic field theory for spin-isospin response beyond the finite-temperature random phase approximation. The dynamical contribution to the in-medium proton-neutron interaction amplitude is described in a parameter-free way by the coupling between the single nucleons and strongly-correlated particle-hole excitations (phonons) within the newly developed finite-temperature formalism. In this framework we investigate temperature dependence of the Gamow-Teller and spin dipole resonances in the closed-shell nuclei Ca-48, Ni-78, and Sn-132. Broader impacts of their temperature dependence are illustrated for the associated beta decay rates and lifetimes of Ni-78 and Sn-132 in hot astrophysical environments. We found a remarkable sensitivity of the beta decay rates to the enhanced low-energy spin-isospin strength at finite temperature, in particular, to the contribution of the first-forbidden transitions. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.