Type-II Supernovae and Neutrino Magnetic Moment

Abstract

The present solar and atmospheric neutrino data together with the LSND results and the presence of hot dark matter (HDM) suggest the existence of a sterile neutrino at the eV scale. We have reanalysed the effect of resonant {\sl sterile} neutrino conversions induced by neutrino magnetic moments in a type-II supernova. We analyse the implications of $ν_e-ν_s$ and $\barν_e-\barν_s$ ($ν_s$ denotes sterile neutrino) conversions for the supernova shock re-heating, the detected $\barν_e$ signal from SN1987A and the $r$-process nucleosynthesis hypothesis. Using reasonable magnetic field profiles we determine the sensitivity of these three arguments to the relevant neutrino parameters, i.e. the value of the transition magnetic moment and the $ν_e-ν_s$ mass difference $Δm^2 \equiv Δm^2_{LSND/HDM}$