Is OPERA Neutrino Superluminal Propagation similar to Gain-Assisted Superluminal Light Propagation

TL;DR

This paper explores a conceptual analogy between the superluminal neutrino propagation observed in the OPERA experiment and gain-assisted superluminal light propagation, proposing that neutrinos may travel through a scalar field that explains the superluminal effects without violating relativity.

Contribution

It introduces a hypothesis that neutrinos propagate through a scalar field, similar to gain-assisted media for light, providing a potential explanation consistent with causality and special relativity.

Findings

OPERA neutrino data suggest a non-dispersive medium with refractive index close to 1.

The proposed medium could be a scalar field like dark matter or Higgs field.

Superluminal neutrino propagation can be explained without breaking relativity.

Abstract

In this work we consider a possible conceptual similarity between recent, amazing OPERA experiment of the superluminal propagation of neutrino and experiment of the gain-assisted superluminal light propagation realized about ten years ago. Last experiment refers on the propagation of the light, precisely laser pulse through a medium, precisely caesium atomic gas, with characteristic anomalous dispersion and corresponding negative group-velocity index with very large amplitude between two closely spaced gain lines (that is in some way similar to quantum theory of the ferromagnetism). It implies superluminal propagation of the light through this medium. Nevertheless all this, at it has been pointed out by authors, "is not at odds with causality or special relativity", since it simply represents "a direct consequence of the classical interference between ... different frequency components". We suggest that OPERA experiment can be in some way conceptually similar to the gain-assisted superluminal light propagation experiment. For this reason we suppose too that OPERA experiment can be simply explained in full agreement with causality and special relativity if there is some medium, precisely a scalar field (e.g. dark matter field, Higgs field or similar) through which neutrino propagates. We prove that, according to OPERA experiment data, supposed medium must be non-dispersive while its refractive index must be positive, smaller but relatively close to 1 (that is in some way similar to quantum theory of the diamagnetism). If it is true OPERA experiment results do not mean that special theory of relativity is broken, but they mean detection of suggested medium, i.e. a scalar field (e.g. dark matter field, Higgs field or similar).