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Local-equilibrium theory of neutrino oscillations

2025/06/03 by Lucas Johns, Johns, Lucas, Anson Kost +1 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Neutrino Physics Research #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2506.03271

Abstract

Miscidynamics describes coarse-grained neutrino transport under the assumption that flavor mixing is in local equilibrium. Here we introduce the concept of turbulent flavor-wave viscosity and develop techniques for including it in miscidynamics. This extension of the theory is necessary when neutrinos develop weak flavor instabilities as a result of astrophysical driving. The flavor-wave dispersion relation is obtained using a new and more general form of linear analysis, which does not require small flavor coherence. Flavor-wave transport is then approximated using wave kinetics and geometric optics. We hypothesize that the dynamical emergence of local oscillation invariants restricts the extent of flavor thermalization. In this view, flavor evolution is sculpted by both entropy-increasing and order-promoting factors.

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