Radiative decay of the massive neutrino in external electromagnetic fields

Abstract

The radiative decay of the massive neutrino ν i → ν j γ is investigated in the framework of the Standard Model in external electromagnetic fields of various configurations: constant crossed field, constant uniform magnetic field, plane monochromatic wave's field. The effect of significant enhancement of the neutrino decay probability by the external field (electromagnetic catalysis) is discussed. An especially strong enhancement occurs in the case of the ultrarelativistic neutrino decay, since in this case the decay probability does not contain suppression caused by the smallness of the decaying neutrino mass. The ultrarelativistic neutrino decay catalysis is significant even in a relatively weak external field (F/F e ≪ 1, where F e is the critical Schwinger value). The expression for the photon splitting probability into the neutrino pair γ → ν iνj in the wave field is given. The estimations of a number of gamma-quanta produced in a volume filled with an electromagnetic field and the neutrino lifetime in a strong magnetic field are presented.To be published in Physical Review, V. D54, N 7.

Axion decay in a strong magnetic field

“…An external field can not only influence substantially on decay processes (for example, a strong catalyzing effect of the external field on neutrino radiative decay ν → ν ′ γ [7], double radiative axion decay a → 2γ [8]) but open new channels forbidden in vacuum as well (the well known photon splitting into electron-positron pair γ → e + e − [9] and into two photons γ → γγ [10]). …”

Radiative decay of keV-mass sterile neutrino in magnetized electron plasma

“…This process has been considered by several groups in the different cases: vacuum [12], electron plasma [13][14][15][16][17][18], magnetic fields of different configurations [19][20][21][22][23] and magnetized plasma [24][25][26]. The main point of the work we have done [26] was to extend the previous analysis by including the modified photon dispersion relation.…”

“…The decay width W t pl and W pl are expressed in terms of the vacuum rate (22). The lifetime of the sterile neutrino with the mass of 10 keV is equal to 1.2 × 10 26 years under the assumption that the mixing angle squared is θ 2 s 10 −11 .…”

Neutrino scattering in a magnetic field

“…Dicus and collaborators [3][4][5][6] have given cross sections for both massless and massive neutrino photon scattering. Neutrino scattering in a magnetic field has been considered in detail by Mikheev and collaborators [7][8][9][10], as well as by other authors [11,12]. For high energy neutrinos, the radiated photons are energetic and the distribution is peaked in the forward direction.…”

“…The above results remain valid as long as χ e < 1 which is always the case even at the highest neutrino (beam) energies and for magnetic fields that can be achieved in the laboratory. Results pertaining to larger values of χ e such as can be reached in the very strong fields of astrophysical environments or for extremely high energy cosmic ray neutrinos are discussed in [9,14].…”