English

Spectral split in prompt supernova neutrino burst: Analytic three-flavor treatment

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2008-11-26 v2 Astrophysics

Abstract

The prompt nu_e burst from a core-collapse supernova (SN) is subject to both matter-induced flavor conversions and strong neutrino-neutrino refractive effects. For the lowest-mass progenitors, leading to O-Ne-Mg core SNe, the matter density profile can be so shallow that the usual MSW matter effects occur within the dense-neutrino region close to the neutrino sphere. In this case a ``split'' occurs in the emerging spectrum, i.e., the nu_e flavor survival probability shows a step-like feature. We explain this feature analytically as a ``MSW prepared spectral split.'' In a three-flavor treatment, the step-like feature actually consists of two narrowly spaced splits. They are determined by two combinations of flavor-lepton numbers that are conserved under collective oscillations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0801.1660,
  title  = {Spectral split in prompt supernova neutrino burst: Analytic three-flavor treatment},
  author = {B. Dasgupta and A. Dighe and A. Mirizzi and G. G. Raffelt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0801.1660},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

Revised version (14 pages, 10 eps figures) to appear in Physical Review D. Text clarified, Figure 2 improved