Plasma cutoff and enhancement of radiative transitions in dense stellar matter

Abstract

We study plasma effects on radiative transitions (e.g., decay of excited states of atoms or atomic nuclei) in a dense plasma at the transition frequencies $\omega \lesssim \omega_p$ (where $\omega_p$ is the electron plasma frequency). The decay goes through four channels -- the emission of real transverse and longitudinal plasmons as well as the emission of virtual transverse and longitudinal plasmons with subsequent absorption of such plasmons by the plasma. The emission of real plasmons dies out at $\omega \leq \omega_p$, but the processes with virtual plasmons strongly enhance the radiative decay. Applications of these results to radiative processes in white dwarf cores and neutron star envelopes are discussed.