Neutrino oscillations and gamma-ray bursts

Abstract

If the ordinary neutrinos oscillate into a sterile flavor in a manner consistent with the Super-Kamiokande data on the zenith-angle dependence of atmospheric mu-neutrino flux, an energy sufficient to power a typical cosmic gamma-ray burst (GRB) (about 10^{52} erg) can be carried by sterile neutrinos away from the source and deposited in a region relatively free of baryons. Hence, ultra-relativistic bulk motion (required by the theory of and observations of GRBs and their afterglows) can easily be achieved in the vicinity of plausible sources of GRBs. Oscillations between sterile and ordinary neutrinos would thus provide a solution to the ``baryon-loading problem'' in the theory of GRBs.

References in corpus (6)

• Are Gamma-Ray Bursts in Star Forming Regions?
• The central engine of gamma-ray bursters
• The Supernova-Gamma Ray Burst Connection
• The soft X-ray afterglow of gamma ray bursts, a stringent test for the fireball model
• Simulations of binary coalescence of a neutron star and a black hole
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Cited by in corpus (6)

• Can a Large Neutron Excess Help Solve the Baryon Loading Problem in Gamma-Ray Burst Fireballs?
• Cosmic Gamma-ray Bursts. Lectures Presented at XXVII ITEP Winter School
• Matter-affected neutrino oscillations in ordinary and mirror stars and their implications for gamma-ray bursts
• Can there be neutrino oscillation in Gamma-Ray Bursts fireball ?
• Mirror World versus large extra dimensions
• Weak-Scale Hidden Sector and Energy Transport in Fireball Models of Gamma-Ray Bursts