Oscillations of Dirac and Majorana neutrinos in matter and a magnetic field

TL;DR

This paper provides an exact quantum mechanical analysis of how massive Dirac and Majorana neutrinos oscillate in matter with a magnetic field, revealing differences in their transition probabilities and implications for supernovae.

Contribution

It offers an exact solution for neutrino evolution equations in matter and magnetic fields, including corrections to standard oscillation formulas for Majorana neutrinos.

Findings

Derived exact transition probabilities for spin-flavor oscillations.

Compared Dirac and Majorana neutrino behaviors in external fields.

Discussed implications for neutrino transitions in supernova environments.

Abstract

We study the evolution of massive mixed Dirac and Majorana neutrinos in matter under the influence of a transversal magnetic field. The analysis is based on relativistic quantum mechanics. We solve exactly the evolution equation for relativistic neutrinos, find the neutrino wave functions, and calculate the transition probability for spin-flavor oscillations. We analyze the dependence of the transition probability on the external fields and compare the cases of Dirac and Majorana neutrinos. The evolution of Majorana particles in vacuum is also studied and correction terms to the standard oscillation formula are derived and discussed. As a possible application of our results we discuss the spin-flavor transitions in supernovae.