Gravitationally Induced Neutrino-Oscillation Phases

Abstract

In this essay, we introduce a new effect of gravitationally induced quantum mechanical phases in neutrino oscillations. These phases arise from an hitherto unexplored interplay of gravitation and the principle of the linear superposition of quantum mechanics. In the neighborhood of a 1.4 solar-mass neutron star, gravitationally induced quantum mechanical phases are roughly 20% of their kinematical counterparts. When this information is coupled with the mass square differences implied by the existing neutrino-oscillation data we find that the new effect may have profound consequences for type-II supernova evolution.Comment: First Prize Gravity Research Foundation Essay (1996). Added two appendices. Appendix A: Erratum. Appendix B: Neutrino oscillations as a new energy transport mechanism for supernova explosions (taken from a 1996 JRO Fellowship proposal