Volume 21: Pages 144-150, 2008

Possible gravitoelectric dipole moment of neutrinos, atmospheric, and solar neutrino anomalies

Anatoli S. Kuznetsov ¹

¹Institute of Physics, University of Tartu, Riia Street 142, 51014 Tartu, Estonia

We have carried out quantum-mechanical calculations of transition dynamics between the left- and right-handed helicity states ν_L↔ν_R of the atmospheric muon Dirac neutrino ν_μ, which has a gravitoelectric dipole moment (GEDM) interacting with the gravitational field of the Earth. It is shown that the asymmetry of the zenith-angle distribution of this neutrino can be explained by an interference of the two mutually perpendicular linearly polarized plane neutrino states with different phase velocities (difference in the respective refractive indices being δn₀≈1.1×10⁻²²) inside the Earth taking into account its gravitational field. The solar neutrino deficit can also be explained by the electron neutrino ν_e helicity flip transitions ν_L↔ν_R due to the interaction between GEDM of ν_e and the gravitational field of the Sun. The characteristic masses M_c≈10⁸ GeV for the gravitational dipole of the neutral and charged leptons have been estimated.

Keywords: Neutrinos Composite Model, Gravitoelectric Dipole Moment, Gravitational Interaction, Spin-Flip Transitions, Refractive Index, Characteristic Lepton Mass

Received: November 27, 2006; Accepted: May 30, 2008; Published Online: January 15, 2009