Lepton Pair Čerenkov Radiation Emitted by Tachyonic Neutrinos: Lorentz-Covariant Approach and IceCube Data
Current experiments do not exclude the possibility that one or more neutrinos are very slightly superluminal or that they have a very small tachyonic mass. Important bounds on the size of a hypothetical tachyonic neutrino mass term are set by lepton pair Čerenkov radiation (LPCR), that is, by the de...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Hindawi Limited
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in High Energy Physics |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4764981 |
| Summary: | Current experiments do not exclude the possibility that one or more neutrinos are very slightly superluminal or that they have a very small tachyonic mass. Important bounds on the size of a hypothetical tachyonic neutrino mass term are set by lepton pair Čerenkov radiation (LPCR), that is, by the decay channel ν→e+e-ν, which proceeds via a virtual Z0 boson. Here, we use a Lorentz-invariant dispersion relation which leads to very tight constraints on the tachyonic mass of neutrinos; we also calculate decay and energy loss rates. A possible cutoff seen in the IceCube neutrino spectrum for Eν>2 PeV, due to the potential onset of LPCR, is discussed. |
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| ISSN: | 1687-7357 1687-7365 |