Fast Flavor Conversions at the Edge of Instability in a Two-Beam Model
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: A dense neutrino gas exhibiting angular crossings in the electron lepton number is unstable and develops fast flavor conversions. Instead of assuming an unstable configuration from the onset, we imagine that the system is externally driven toward instability. We use the simplest model of two neutrino beams initially of different flavor that either suddenly appear or one or both slowly build up. Flavor conversions commence well before the putative unstable state is fully attained, and the final outcome depends on how the system is driven. The system generally sticks to the closest state that is linearly stable, a conclusion that we prove for the first time using quasilinear theory. Our results suggest that in an astrophysical setting, one should focus less on flavor instabilities in the neutrino radiation field and more on the external dynamics that leads to the formation of the unstable state.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: Damiano F. G. Fiorillo, Georg G. Raffelt
Institutions: University of Copenhagen, Max Planck Institute for Physics
Language: English
Topic: Neutrino Physics Research
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
Awards: G1897041155, NBIA INTERACTIONS POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAMME, G4066435496, G4090823411, G434337789, EXC 2094: ORIGINS: Vom Ursprung des Universums bis zu den ersten Bausteinen des Lebens, NBIA INTERACTIONS POSTDOCTORAL PROGRAMME, SFB 1258: Neutrinos und Dunkle Materie in der Astro und Teilchenphysik (NDM), G8543737702
OpenAlex ID: W4404749093