LMA and sterile neutrinos: a case for resonance spin flavour precession?

Abstract

Open questions remain after the confirmation of LMA as the dominant solution to the solar neutrino deficit. These are the apparent time modulation of the solar neutrino event rates in the Homestake, Gallium and SuperKamiokande experiments, possibly related to solar magnetic activity, the discrepancy between the event rate in the Homestake experiment and its theoretical prediction and the absence of the electron spectrum upturn in SuperKamiokande at energies below 6-8 MeV. We search for a possible understanding of these questions in the context of resonant spin flavour precession to sterile neutrinos, assuming a class of magnetic field profiles anchored in the upper radiation/lower convection zone. We consider the simplest such model beyond the standard 2$\nu$ flavour LMA one, with one single magnetic moment transition between active and sterile state and vanishing vacuum mixing. The preferred mass square difference is $\Delta m_{10}^2=O(10^{-8}e{V}^2)$. The Ga rate appears to be the most sensitive of all to solar activity. It is also found that a field profile extending within a longer region in the radial direction is favoured over another with a shorter span, and leads to a stronger suppression than in the LMA case of the intermediate energy neutrinos and some of the ${}^{8}B$ ones.

Comments: References updated. Final version to be published in JHEP