QED corrections to the thermal neutrino interaction rate

Abstract

Motivated by precision computations of neutrino decoupling at MeV temperatures, we show how QED corrections to the thermal neutrino interaction rate can be related to the electron-positron spectral function as well as an effective $\bar{\nu }\nu \gamma$ vertex. The spectral function is needed both in a timelike and in a spacelike domain, and for both of its physical polarization states (transverse and longitudinal with respect to spatial momentum). Incorporating an NLO evaluation of this spectral function, an estimate of the $\bar{\nu }\nu \gamma$ vertex, and HTL resummation of scatterings mediated by soft Bose-enhanced $t$-channel photons, we compute the interaction rate as a function of the neutrino momentum and flavour. Effects on the $-(\mathrm{0...2})\%$ level are found, noticeably smaller than a previous estimate of a related quantity.

arXiv comment27 pages. v2: references and clarifications added

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• Lepton Flavor Asymmetries: from the early Universe to BBN
• Dynamics of metastable Standard Model particles from long-lived particle decays in the MeV primordial plasma
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