Neutrino magnetic moments in low-energy neutrino scattering on condensed matter systems

TL;DR

This paper develops a formalism to analyze how neutrino magnetic moments influence low-energy elastic scattering in condensed matter systems, aiding future experimental searches for neutrino electromagnetic properties.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework incorporating neutrino magnetic moments into low-energy scattering calculations using the dynamic structure factor in condensed matter.

Findings

Neutrino magnetic moments around 10^{-11} μ_B significantly affect scattering cross sections.

Numerical calculations for tritium antineutrino scattering on superfluid helium are presented.

The results support using low-threshold detectors to search for neutrino magnetic moments.

Abstract

The cross sections of elastic neutrino scattering on electrons and nuclei in the regime of low-energy transfer are known to be very sensitive to neutrino electromagnetic properties. In particular, the magnetic moment of the neutrino can be effectively searched using liquid or solid detectors with a very low energy threshold. We present the formalism that incorporates the neutrino magnetic moment contribution in the theoretical treatment of the low-energy elastic neutrino scattering on a condensed-matter target. The concept of the dynamic structure factor is employed to describe the collective effects in the target. The differential cross section for tritium antineutrino scattering on the superfluid $^4$He is calculated numerically. We find that the neutrino magnetic moment of the order of $10^{-11}\mu_B$ strongly affects the cross section. Our results can be used in the search of neutrino magnetic moments in future low-energy neutrino scattering experiments with liquid or solid targets.