Neutrino Flavor Conversion in Random Magnetic Fields

Abstract

If massive neutrinos possess magnetic moments, a magnetic field can cause a spin flip. In the case of Dirac neutrinos the spin flip converts an active neutrino into a sterile one and vice versa. By contrast, if neutrinos are Majorana particles, a spin flip converts them to a neutrino of a different flavor. We examine the behavior of neutrinos in a random magnetic field as it occurs, for instance, in certain astronomical objects, such as an active galactic nucleus. Both Dirac and Majorana neutrinos behave ergodically: independently of their initial density matrix, they tend towards an equipartition of the helicity states. As a result, about half of the Dirac neutrinos produced becomes sterile. For Majorana neutrinos, there will be an approximate equipartition of flavors, independently of the production mechanism.