We will review the approach used for studying the conversion of a hadronic star into a quark star based on the assumption of a infinitely thin combustion zone and we will discuss why, in this scheme, the combustion stops before the whole hadronic star is converted.
There are strong indications that the process of conversion of a neutron star into a strange quark star proceeds as a strong deflagration implying that in a few milliseconds almost the whole star is converted. Starting from the three-dimensional hydr
odynamic simulations of the combustion process which provide the temperature profiles inside the newly born strange star, we calculate for the first time the neutrino signal that is to be expected if such a conversion process takes place. The neutrino emission is characterized by a luminosity and a duration that is typical for the signal expected from protoneutron stars and represents therefore a powerful source of neutrinos which could be possibly directly detected in case of events occurring close to our Galaxy. We discuss moreover possible connections between the birth of strange stars and explosive phenomena such as supernovae and gamma-ray-bursts.
