Gravitationally Induced Neutrino-Oscillation Phases

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel gravitational effect on neutrino oscillation phases, revealing that gravity can significantly influence quantum phases near neutron stars, potentially impacting supernova evolution.

Contribution

It uncovers a new gravitationally induced quantum phase effect in neutrino oscillations, linking gravitation with quantum superposition in astrophysical contexts.

Findings

Gravitationally induced phases are about 20% of kinematical phases near neutron stars.

The effect could significantly influence supernova dynamics.

Potential implications for neutrino physics and astrophysics.

Abstract

In this essay, we introduce a new effect of gravitationally induced quantum mechanical phases in neutrino oscillations. These phases arise from an hitherto unexplored interplay of gravitation and the principle of the linear superposition of quantum mechanics. In the neighborhood of a 1.4 solar-mass neutron star, gravitationally induced quantum mechanical phases are roughly 20% of their kinematical counterparts. When this information is coupled with the mass square differences implied by the existing neutrino-oscillation data we find that the new effect may have profound consequences for type-II supernova evolution.