Conversions of propagation eigenstates of supernova neutrinos by atomic electrons

Abstract

Electron number densities in stars and the Earth are inhomogeneous because of atomic electrons. The large inhomogeneities on atomic-scale tend to form at tops of respective layers of stars, and 1s electrons of O locally produce weak potentials higher than that of the high MSW resonance. Then, supernova neutrinos experience vast numbers of non-adiabatic transitions. This inhomogeneous electron potential generates finite amplitudes of all three propagation eigenstates, and wave packets effectively separate. Then, spectral differences between three flavors significantly diminishes after propagation.

arXiv comment14 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (6)

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• Neutrino Propagation in a Fluctuating Sun
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• Decoherence and oscillations of supernova neutrinos
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• Neutrino Velocity and Neutrino Oscillations