Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We propose a new source of neutrino decoherence arising from stochastic gravitational lensing by unresolved mass substructure. Unlike traditional models that treat the lensing potential as smooth and deterministic, we decompose the lensing potential into a smooth component and a stochastic population of compact clumps. The substructure induced fluctuations of the lensing potential generate stochastic corrections to the neutrino time delay, thereby producing random relative phases between different neutrino mass eigenstates. Averaging over the clump ensemble converts these phase fluctuations into an effective dampening of flavour coherence. This framework connects stochastic gravitational lensing with neutrino phenomenology and offers a novel route to probe dark matter substructure through astrophysical neutrino flavour transitions.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Acharya, Bikash Kumar, Dey, Ujjal Kumar
Language: English
Topic: Neutrino Physics Research
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7213531233