Abstract
Neutrinos in a core-collapse supernova undergo coherent flavor transformations in their own background. We explore this phenomenon during the cooling stage of the explosion. Our three-flavor calculations reveal qualitatively new effects compared to a two-flavor analysis. These effects are especially clearly seen for the inverted mass hierarchy: we find a different pattern of spectral “swaps” in the neutrino spectrum and a novel “mixed” spectrum for the antineutrinos. A brief discussion of the relevant physics is presented, including the instability of the two-flavor evolution trajectory, the three-flavor pattern of spectral “swaps,” and partial nonadiabaticity of the evolution.
- Received 19 January 2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.191102
©2010 American Physical Society
Synopsis
A full-flavored neutrino calculation
Published 24 May 2010
A new calculation of stellar core-collapse explosions that includes all three neutrino flavors shows unusual spectral patterns that will be important in understanding signals from future galactic supernovae.
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