Cosmological Neutrino Mass Detection: The Best Probe of Neutrino Lifetime

Journal Article · Fri Apr 27 00:00:00 EDT 2007 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.98.171301· OSTI ID:20951266

Serpico, Pasquale D ^[1]

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1. Center for Particle Astrophysics, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510-0500 (United States)

Future cosmological data may be sensitive to the effects of a finite sum of neutrino masses even as small as {approx}0.06 eV, the lower limit guaranteed by neutrino oscillation experiments. We show that a cosmological detection of neutrino mass at that level would improve by many orders of magnitude the existing limits on neutrino lifetime, and as a consequence, on neutrino secret interactions with (quasi)massless particles as in Majoron models. On the other hand, neutrino decay may provide a way out to explain a discrepancy < or approx. 0.1 eV between cosmic neutrino bounds and lab data.

• OSTI ID: 20951266
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 17; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.171301; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
COSMIC NEUTRINOS
LIFETIME
MASS
NEUTRINO OSCILLATION
PARTICLE DECAY