On neutrino-atom scattering in searches for neutrino magnetic moments

In the experimental searches for neutrino magnetic moments using germanium detectors one studies the ionization channel in the neutrino-atom scattering. We find that the so-called stepping approximation to the neutrino-impact ionization is exact in the semiclassical limit, and that the deviations from this approximation are very small.Comment: 1 page, to appear in Nuclear Physics B Proceedings Supplement 2011 (Proceedings of the XXIV International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, Athens, June 14-19, 2010

Electromagnetic neutrino-atom collisions: The role of electron binding

We present a new theoretical approach to neutrino-impact atomic excitation and/or ionization due to neutrino magnetic moments. The differential cross section of the process is given by a sum of the longitudinal and transverse terms, which are induced by the corresponding components of the force that the neutrino magnetic moment imposes on electrons with respect to momentum transfer. In this context, the recent theoretical studies devoted to the magnetic neutrino scattering on atoms are critically examined.Comment: 4 pages, published in proceedings of NOW201