尤卡过程（Urca-process）是中子星和白矮星透过产生及发布中微子而被假定参与了冷却的过程。尤卡一词在俄罗斯南部可被解为匪徒抢劫。

In astroparticle physics, an Urca process is a reaction which emits a neutrino and which is assumed to take part in cooling processes in neutron stars and white dwarfs. The process was first discussed by George Gamow and Mário Schenberg while they were visiting a casino named Cassino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro. Schenberg is reported to have said to Gamow that "the energy disappears in the nucleus of the supernova as quickly as the money disappeared at that roulette table". In Gamow's South Russian dialect, urca (Russian:урка) can also mean a robber or gangster.