"Evaporation" of a flavor-mixed particle from a gravitational potential

TL;DR

This paper reveals that flavor-mixed particles in a gravitational potential can irreversibly evaporate due to mass eigenstate conversions during interactions, with significant implications for cosmology and dark matter structure.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum effect where flavor-mixed particles can gradually escape gravitational wells through mass eigenstate conversions, distinct from known processes.

Findings

Prediction of cosmic neutrino background distortion

Implications for dark matter halo structures

Potential effects on dwarf galaxy stability

Abstract

We demonstrate that a stable particle with flavor mixing, confined in a gravitational potential can gradually and irreversibly escape -- or "evaporate" -- from it. This effect is due to mass eigenstate conversions which occur in interactions (scattering) of mass states with other particles even when the energy exchange between them is vanishing. The evaporation and conversion are quantum effects not related to flavor oscillations, particle decay, quantum tunneling or other well-known processes. Apart from their profound academic interest, these effects should have tremendous implications for cosmology, e.g., (1) the cosmic neutrino background distortion is predicted and (2) the softening of central cusps in dark matter halos and smearing out or destruction of dwarf halos were suggested.