Astrophysical and Cosmological Neutrinos

Abstract

Introduction The connection between neutrinos and astrophysics and cosmology is one of the traditional pillars of astroparticle physics. On the one hand side the intrinsic properties of neutrinos are dicult to measure; the \heavenly laboratories" provide invaluable complementary information [1, 2, 3]. On the other hand side neutrinos dominate the dynamics of the radiation dominated universe and of core-collapse supernovae and are important cooling agents even for ordinary stars. Knowing the intrinsic neutrino properties is crucial for our understanding of various astrophysical and cosmological phenomena. Yet the focus of neutrino astrophysics and cosmology is changing in the light of what is beginning to be the established wisdom. Pure laboratory experiments will soon overtake solar and atmospheric neutrinos at measuring the mixing parameters. While precision cosmology continues to provide the most restrictive limit on neutrino masses, the importance of astrophysics and cosmology a