English

Neutrino bound states and bound systems

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2022-09-07 v3 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Abstract

Yukawa interactions of neutrinos with a new light scalar boson ϕ\phi can lead to formation of stable bound states and bound systems of many neutrinos (ν\nu-clusters). For allowed values of the coupling yy and the scalar mass mϕm_\phi, the bound state of two neutrinos would have the size larger than 101210^{12} cm. Bound states with sub-cm sizes are possible for keV scale sterile neutrinos with coupling y>104y > 10^{-4}. For ν\nu-clusters we study in detail the properties of final stable configurations. If there is an efficient cooling mechanism, these configurations are in the state of degenerate Fermi gas. We formulate and solve equations of the density distributions in ν\nu-clusters. In the non-relativistic case, they are reduced to the Lane-Emden equation. We find that (i) stable configurations exist for any number of neutrinos, NN; (ii) there is a maximal central density 109\sim 10^9 cm3^{-3} determined by the neutrino mass; (iii) for a given mϕm_\phi there is a minimal value of Ny3Ny^3 for which stable configurations can be formed; (iv) for a given strength of interaction, Sϕ=(ymν/mϕ)2S_\phi = (ym_\nu/m_\phi)^2, the minimal radius of ν\nu-clusters exists. We discuss the formation of ν\nu-clusters from relic neutrino background in the process of expansion and cooling of the Universe. One possibility realized for Sϕ>700S_\phi > 700 is the development of instabilities in the ν\nu-background at T<mνT < m_\nu which leads to its fragmentation. For allowed values of yy, cooling of ν\nu-clusters due to ϕ\phi-bremsstrahlung and neutrino annihilation is negligible. The sizes of ν\nu-clusters may range from \sim km to 5\sim 5 Mpc. Formation of clusters affects perspectives of detection of relic neutrinos.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2201.00939,
  title  = {Neutrino bound states and bound systems},
  author = {Alexei Yu. Smirnov and Xun-Jie Xu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2201.00939},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

The part devoted to formation of clusters is further elaborated

R2 v1 2026-06-24T08:39:19.864Z