The effect of neutrino quantum decoherence

TL;DR

This paper investigates how neutrino quantum decoherence, caused by radiative decay in an electron medium and radiation field, suppresses neutrino oscillations, highlighting environmental effects on neutrino coherence.

Contribution

It introduces a model for neutrino quantum decoherence due to radiative decay in media, quantifying its impact on neutrino oscillation damping.

Findings

Neutrino decoherence can significantly suppress oscillations.

Environmental factors like electron media influence neutrino coherence.

Quantitative damping effects are calculated for specific conditions.

Abstract

The neutrino oscillation patterns can be modified by neutrino interactions with external environments including electromagnetic fields that can influence on neutrinos in the case neutrinos have nonzero electromagnetic properties [1]. The phenomenon of neutrino oscillations can proceed only in the case of the coherent superposition of neutrino mass states. An external environment can modify a neutrino evolution in a way that conditions for the coherent superposition of neutrino mass states are violated. Such a violation is called quantum decoherence of neutrino states and leads to the suppression of flavor neutrino oscillations [2, 3]. Note that neutrino decoherence appeared due to the wave separation of different mass states is usually not related to quantum neutrino decoherence, the effect that is not considered below. We consider the neutrino quantum decoherence due to neutrino radiative decay in the presence of an electron medium and radiation field. The corresponding damping of neutrino oscillations is calculated.