1997/09/12 by Brian Woodahl, Woodahl, Brian, Michelle Parry +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #Neutrino Physics Research #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.hep-ph/9709334
LaTeX, 8 pages, 2 PostScript figures; to appear in the proceedings of "Beyond the Desert", Castle Ringberg, Tegernsee, Germany, 8-14 June 1997, edited by H.V.Klapdor-Kleingrothaus
arxiv created 1997/09/12 · openalex publication_date 1997/09/12 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
It has been shown recently that the exchange of virtual neutrino pairs leads to an unphysically large energy-density in neutron stars and white dwarfs, unless neutrinos have a minimum mass, m > 0.4 eV. Here we consider the possibility that the presence of trapped low-energy neutrinos can suppress the exchange of virtual neutrino pairs, thereby avoiding a large energy-density even for massless neutrinos. We show that a) there can be subvolumes in a neutron star or white dwarf where neutrino-trapping does not take place, and which can thus have an unphysically large energy density, and b) even in those volumes where trapping does occur, the resulting suppression can be too small to alter the conclusion that neutrinos must have a minimum mass.