Neutrino-photon scattering and its crossed processes in a background magnetic field

Abstract

We study the neutrino-photon processes such as $\gamma \gamma \to \nu \bar{\nu }$ and $\nu \gamma \to \nu \gamma$ in a background magnetic field smaller than the critical magnetic field $B_c\equiv m_e^2/e$. Using Schwinger's proper-time method, we extract leading magnetic-field contributions to the above processes. Our result is valid throughout the kinematic regime where both neutrino and photon energies are significantly smaller than $m_W$. We briefly discuss the astrophysical implications of our result.

Comments: Revtex, 10 pages, 4 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Lett. B