Solar neutrinos as probes of neutrino-matter interactions

Abstract

Data from solar neutrino and KamLAND experiments have led to a discovery of nonzero neutrino masses. Here we investigate what these data can tell us about neutrino interactions with matter, including the poorly constrained flavor-changing nu_e-nu_tau interactions. We give examples of the interaction parameters that are excluded by the solar/KamLAND data and are beyond the reach of other experiments. We also demonstrate that flavor-changing interactions, at the allowed level, may profoundly modify the conversion probability for neutrinos of energy <~ 6 MeV and the values of the mass parameter inferred from the data. The implications for future experiments are discussed.