Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities

Abstract Slow flavor evolution (defined as driven by neutrino masses and not necessarily “slow”) is receiving fresh attention in the context of compact astrophysical environments. In Part I of this series, we have studied the slow-mode dispersion relation following our recently developed analogy to...

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Main Authors: Damiano F. G. Fiorillo, Georg G. Raffelt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of High Energy Physics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)146
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author Damiano F. G. Fiorillo
Georg G. Raffelt
author_facet Damiano F. G. Fiorillo
Georg G. Raffelt
author_sort Damiano F. G. Fiorillo
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Slow flavor evolution (defined as driven by neutrino masses and not necessarily “slow”) is receiving fresh attention in the context of compact astrophysical environments. In Part I of this series, we have studied the slow-mode dispersion relation following our recently developed analogy to plasma waves. The concept of resonance between flavor waves in the linear regime and propagating neutrinos is the defining feature of this approach. It is best motivated for weak instabilities, which probably is the most relevant regime in self-consistent astrophysical environments because these will try to eliminate the cause of instability. We here go beyond the dispersion relation alone (which by definition applies to infinite media) and consider the group velocities of unstable modes that determines whether the instability relaxes within the region where it first appears (absolute), or away from it (convective). We show that all weak instabilities are convective so that their further evolution is not local. Therefore, studying their consequences numerically in small boxes from given initial conditions may not always be appropriate.
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spelling doaj-art-76ac06e42e20428ab05d8a0a4b02c2352025-08-20T03:45:44ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792025-06-012025612910.1007/JHEP06(2025)146Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilitiesDamiano F. G. Fiorillo0Georg G. Raffelt1Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESYMax-Planck-Institut für PhysikAbstract Slow flavor evolution (defined as driven by neutrino masses and not necessarily “slow”) is receiving fresh attention in the context of compact astrophysical environments. In Part I of this series, we have studied the slow-mode dispersion relation following our recently developed analogy to plasma waves. The concept of resonance between flavor waves in the linear regime and propagating neutrinos is the defining feature of this approach. It is best motivated for weak instabilities, which probably is the most relevant regime in self-consistent astrophysical environments because these will try to eliminate the cause of instability. We here go beyond the dispersion relation alone (which by definition applies to infinite media) and consider the group velocities of unstable modes that determines whether the instability relaxes within the region where it first appears (absolute), or away from it (convective). We show that all weak instabilities are convective so that their further evolution is not local. Therefore, studying their consequences numerically in small boxes from given initial conditions may not always be appropriate.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)146Neutrino InteractionsNeutrino Mixing
spellingShingle Damiano F. G. Fiorillo
Georg G. Raffelt
Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities
Journal of High Energy Physics
Neutrino Interactions
Neutrino Mixing
title Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities
title_full Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities
title_fullStr Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities
title_full_unstemmed Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities
title_short Theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution. Part II. Space-time evolution of linear instabilities
title_sort theory of neutrino slow flavor evolution part ii space time evolution of linear instabilities
topic Neutrino Interactions
Neutrino Mixing
url https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)146
work_keys_str_mv AT damianofgfiorillo theoryofneutrinoslowflavorevolutionpartiispacetimeevolutionoflinearinstabilities
AT georggraffelt theoryofneutrinoslowflavorevolutionpartiispacetimeevolutionoflinearinstabilities