Geometric phases in neutrino oscillations with nonlinear refraction

TL;DR

This paper investigates geometric phases in neutrino oscillations caused by nonlinear refraction effects from neutrino-neutrino interactions, highlighting their robustness and potential complexity in astrophysical environments.

Contribution

It introduces the analysis of geometric phases in nonlinear neutrino oscillations, including the emergence of non-Abelian phases at high densities, using both exact and perturbative methods.

Findings

Geometric phases are robust in nonlinear neutrino oscillations.

Non-Abelian geometric phases can arise at extremely high neutrino densities.

Idealized models suggest complex geometric effects may occur in realistic astrophysical settings.

Abstract

Neutrinos propagating in dense astrophysical environments sustain nonlinear refractive effects due to neutrino-neutrino forward scattering. We study geometric phases in neutrino oscillations that arise out of cyclic evolution of the potential generated by these forward-scattering processes. We perform several calculations, exact and perturbative, that illustrate the robustness of such phases, and of geometric effects more broadly, in the flavor evolution of neutrinos. The scenarios we consider are highly idealized in order to make them analytically tractable, but they suggest the possible presence of complicated geometric effects in realistic astrophysical settings. We also point out that in the limit of extremely high neutrino densities, the nonlinear potential in three flavors naturally gives rise to non-Abelian geometric phases. This paper is intended to be accessible to neutrino experts and non-specialists alike.