Neutrino oscillations in a turbulent plasma

Abstract

A new model for the joint neutrino flavor and plasma oscillations is introduced, in terms of the dynamics of the neutrino flavor polarization vector in a plasma background. Fundamental solutions are found for both time-invariant and time-dependent media, considering slow and fast variations of the electron plasma density. The model is shown to be described by a generalized Hamiltonian formalism. In the case of a broad spectrum of electron plasma waves, a statistical approach indicates the shift of both equilibrium value and frequency oscillation of flavor coherence, due to the existence of a turbulent plasma background.