Quantum Field-Theoretical Description of Neutrino Oscillations in a Magnetic Field and the Solar Neutrino Problem

Abstract

It is shown that the processes of neutrino oscillations in a magnetic field can be consistently described in the framework of a new quantum field-theoretical approach without use of the neutrino flavor states. It is based on the Feynman diagram technique with a modified distance-dependent propagator, which takes into account the geometry of neutrino oscillation experiments. Processes of neutrino oscillations in a magnetic field, where the neutrinos are detected through the weak charged- and neutral-current interaction, have been studied and numerical calculations have been carried out for some specific examples. Implications for the solar neutrinos are briefly discussed, and formulas for the asymptotic values of the normalized probability of solar neutrino oscillation processes are derived, which coincide with the observable ratio of the measurable neutrino flux to that predicted by the standard solar model.