The Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein Effect as a Probe of the Solar Interior

Abstract

We relate the MSW effect to the efective absorption of the electronic collective motion energy by retaining the imaginary part of the index of refraction associated with the charged-current scattering and show that the small angle MSW solution to the solar neutrino anomaly can be used as a probe of the physical conditions of the solar interior if it is correct. We find that the constraint on the absorption imposed by the small angle MSW solution and the theoretical estimate of the absorption by the Boltzmann kinetic theory are consistent, which shows that a consistent theoretical picture can be developed when plasma absorption processes are taken into account.