The study, published in Physical Review Letters, is the first to model the transformation of neutrino “flavors” during neutron star mergers. Under particular conditions, including those inside a neutron star, neutrinos can theoretically switch flavors, which in turn changes the kinds of particles they interact with. “In our simulations, neutrino mixing impacted the electromagnetic emissions from neutron star mergers and possibly the gravitational waves as well,” Radice said. What remains uncertain is where and how these transformations occur in neutron star mergers. Reference: “Neutrino Flavor Transformation in Neutron Star Mergers” by Yi Qiu, David Radice, Sherwood Richers and Maitraya Bhattacharyya, 26 August 2025, Physical Review Letters.