Abstract
According to conventional wisdom the 5 h early Mont Blanc burst probably was not associated with SN 1987A, but if it was genuine, some exotic physics explanation had to be responsible. Here we consider one truly exotic explanation, namely faster-than-light neutrinos having mν2=−0.38 keV2. It is shown that the Mont Blanc burst is consistent with the distinctive signature of that explanation i.e., an 8 MeV antineutrino line from SN 1987A. It is further shown that a model of core collapse supernovae involving dark matter particles of mass 8 MeV would in fact yield an 8 MeV antineutrino line. Moreover, that dark matter model predicts 8 MeV ν,ν¯ and e+e− pairs from the galactic center, a place where one would expect large amounts of dark matter to collect. The resulting e+ would create γ−rays from the galactic center, and a fit to MeV γ−ray data yields the model’s dark matter mass, as well as the calculated source temperature and angular size. These good fits give indirect experimental support for the existence of an 8 MeV antineutrino line from SN 1987A. More direct support comes from the spectrum of N ∼ 1000 events recorded by the Kamiokande-II detector on the day of SN 1987A, which appear to show an 8 MeV line atop the detector background. This ν¯ line, if genuine, has been well-hidden for 30 years because it occurs very close to the peak of the background. This fact might ordinarily justify extreme skepticism. In the present case, however, a more positive view is called for based on (a) the very high statistical significance of the result (30σ), (b) the use of a detector background independent of the SN 1987A data using a later K-II data set, and (c) the observation of an excess above the background spectrum whose central energy and width both agree with that of an 8 MeV ν¯ line broadened by 25% resolution. Most importantly, the last observation is in accord with the prior prediction of an 8 MeV ν¯ line based on the Mont Blanc data, and the dark matter model, itself supported by experimental observations. Lastly, it is noted that the tachyonic interpretation of the Mont Blanc burst fits the author’s earlier unconventional 3+3 model of the neutrino mass states. Experimental corroboration should be sought for the linked hypotheses of an 8 MeV ν¯ line or an mν2=−0.38 keV2. The former might be seen in existing astrophysical data, while the latter should be proven or refuted by the KATRIN experiment in a short data-taking period.
Highlights
On February 23, 1987 bursts of a few dozen neutrinos and antineutrinos were seen in the four detectors operating, the largest of which was in Kamiokande-II. [1] Three of the bursts occurred about the same time, but the fourth 5-event burst seen in the small LSD (Mont Blanc) detector preceded the other three by about 282 min. [2, 3] Since the four detectors were unsynchronized, we make the usual assumption to let t = 0 for the earliest arriving neutrinos seen in the 3 detectors other than LSD
With ∆t = −282 min and Eavg = 8.0 MeV/day/680 tons Ev (MeV), one finds m2avg = −0.38 keV2 It is clear from Eq 1 that one would expect a tachyonic neutrino with a |m2| as large as 0.38keV 2 will not be seen as a single burst of neutrinos in a narrow time window, but instead they will lie on or close to a negatively sloped line, and likely be spread out in arrival time perhaps over many hours before ∆t = 0 because of their spread in energy
A new Ze/Zν mediated reaction model of the core collapse based on annihilating mX = 8M eV dark matter is found to predict such a line
Summary
The LSD burst has been puzzling for at least three reasons besides its early arrival: 1. the absence of the early burst in the other detectors. The neutrinos in the main 10-15 sec burst have energies mostly above 8 MeV, making any difference in the KII and LSD detector efficiencies relatively unimportant compared to the difference in their masses. With ∆t = −282 min and Eavg = 8.0 MeV, one finds m2avg = −0.38 keV2 It is clear from Eq 1 that one would expect a tachyonic neutrino with a |m2| as large as 0.38keV 2 will (almost always) not be seen as a single burst of neutrinos in a narrow time window, but instead they will lie on or close to a negatively sloped line, and likely be spread out in arrival time perhaps over many hours before ∆t = 0 because of their spread in energy. Given the observation time for the burst |∆t| = 282 min= 16, 900 sec and its duration δ(∆t) = 7s, if we assume the 5 events are all associated with a common mass m2, one can infer a maximum spread in the energies of the five events based on Eq 1 as δE δ(∆t). Lest the reader believe that this model has been proposed on an ad hoc basis to fit the desired result, we first spell out the empirical justification for the model, and consider the empirical evidence supporting it
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