Neutrino spin oscillations in external fields in curved spacetime

Abstract

We study spin oscillations of massive Dirac neutrinos in background matter, electromagnetic and gravitational fields. First, using the Dirac equation for a neutrino interacting with the external fields in curved spacetime, we rederive the quasiclassical equation for the neutrino spin evolution, which was proposed previously basing on principles of the general covariance. Then, we apply this result for the description of neutrino spin oscillations in nonmoving and unpolarized matter under the influence of a constant transverse magnetic field and a gravitational wave. We derive the effective Schrödinger equation for neutrino oscillations in these external fields and solve it numerically. Choosing realistic parameters of external fields, we show that the parametric resonance can take place in spin oscillations of low energy neutrinos. Some astrophysical applications are briefly discussed.

11 pages in Revtex, 4 pdf figures; paper is significantly revised; figures are replotted; the discussion on spin evolution in curved spacetime is extended; Sec. III, where astrophysical applications are considered, is significantly revised; version to be published in Phys.Rev.D

References in corpus (9)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. I. The Shadow of the Supermassive Black Hole
• Making Sense of Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians
• Spin dynamics in gravitational fields of rotating bodies and the equivalence principle
• General treatment of quantum and classical spinning particles in external fields
• Solution of the problem of uniqueness and hermiticity of hamiltonians for Dirac particles in gravitational fields
• Hermiticity of the Dirac Hamiltonian in Curved Spacetime
• Galvano-rotational effect induced by electroweak interactions in pulsars
• Spin-flavor oscillations of Dirac neutrinos in matter under the influence of a plane electromagnetic wave

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Neutrino spin oscillations in conformally gravity coupling models and quintessence surrounding a black hole
• Neutrino scattering off a black hole surrounded by a magnetized accretion disk
• Spin oscillations of neutrinos scattered off a rotating black hole
• Wave packet treatment of neutrino flavor oscillations in various spacetimes
• Neutrino spin and flavor oscillations in gravitational fields
• Neutrino oscillations in gravitational waves
• Neutrino oscillations in gravitational fields and astrophysical applications