Macroscopic Forces driven by Resonant Neutrino Conversion

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that neutrino oscillations in matter induce collective macroscopic forces, especially during resonant conversions, which could influence supernova dynamics and neutrino behavior.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of macroscopic forces resulting from neutrino oscillations in matter, highlighting their significance during resonant conversions in astrophysical environments.

Findings

Neutrino oscillations generate collective forces on the medium.

Force magnitude peaks during resonant adiabatic conversions.

Potential implications for supernova dynamics and neutrino physics.

Abstract

We show that neutrino oscillations in matter are always accompanied by collective forces on the medium. This effect may produce interesting consequences for the background and the neutrino oscillations themselves. The force is maximal in the case of resonant neutrino conversion in the adiabatic regime. We study here the forces driven by $\nu_e-\nu_{\mu,\tau}$ and $\nu_e-\nu_s$ MSW conversion and shortly discuss their possible relevance for the dynamics of a type II supernova.