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Neutrino electric charge and the possible anisotropy of the solar neutrino flux

1995; American Physical Society; Volume: 51; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1103/physrevd.51.2411

1538-4500

A. Yu. Ignatiev, G. C. Joshi,

Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies

If the electron neutrino had an electric charge, its magnitude should be less than ${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}13}$ of the electronic charge. Our question is: Could such a tiny charge affect the solar neutrino flux? While a naive answer would be ``no,'' we present arguments that the opposite may be true. The idea is that a charged neutrino beam is deflected by the solar magnetic field, thus decreasing the observed neutrino flux. We obtain the formula which expresses the solar neutrino flux on the Earth in terms of five parameters: the neutrino charge and energy, the gradient of the toroidal magnetic field in the convective zone, the distance from the center of the Sun to the convective zone, and the width of the convective zone. We show that the neutrino flux deficit can be large enough if the gradient of the magnetic field in the convective zone is of the order of ${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}5}$ G/cm. No special structure (such as twisting) of the magnetic field is required. The experimental implications of this scenario are discussed and open problems are identified.