arXiv subjects

Ian Padilla-Gay

Publications and source records attributed to Ian Padilla-Gay.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Energy-dependent slow collective flavor conversion of supernova neutrinos

We study collective slow flavor conversion (SFC) of supernova neutrinos with multi-energy, multi-angle simulations for three representative neutrino spectra in the early accretion, late accretion, and cooling phases, in which multiple crossings between the initial electron- and heavy-lepton-flavor spectra are present. By numerically solving the neutrino quantum kinetic equations in a local periodic box, we find that SFC triggered predominantly by the spatially inhomogeneous instabilities drives the system toward a spatially coarse-grained, quasi-stationary state, whose flavor conversion probability depends strongly on energy, angle, and the neutrino mass ordering. While we find that not all of the initial spectral crossings are completely erased in the final state, a simple, box-like analytical prescription inspired by studies of fast flavor conversions, which eliminates the spectral crossings, can reasonably approximate the post-SFC spectra. Using the initial and post-SFC spectra, we also evaluate the changes of the corresponding $ν_e$ and $\barν_e$ heating rates as well as the absorption equilibrium electron fraction ($Y_e$). Within the considered scenarios, we find that the heating rates are generally enhanced by up to $\sim 80\%$ due to the net conversion of $ν_x$ to $ν_e$ (and $\barν_x$ to $\barν_e$) above their crossing energy, provided that the energy spectra above the crossing energy differ substantially. For the absorption equilibrium $Y_e$, spectra changes due to SFC increase it by $\sim 0.03$ due to the relatively more enhanced $ν_e$ absorption rate than $\barν_e$, which potentially drives supernova materials to be more proton-rich. These results highlight the importance of energy-dependent treatments of SFC for supernova neutrinos.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Solar-System Abundances of $p$-Nuclides Probe Collective Neutrino Oscillations in Supernovae

Direct evidence for collective neutrino oscillations in core-collapse supernovae remains elusive. We show that this quantum phenomenon leaves a footprint on the abundance pattern of proton-rich nuclides in the solar system. Modeling the $νp$-process using a $20\,M_\odot$ progenitor, we map out the dependence of the total yields on the starting radius of the oscillations, self-consistently coupling hydrodynamics and nucleosynthesis. The oscillations boost key $p$-nuclides ($^{92,94}\text{Mo}$, $^{96,98}\text{Ru}$) and long-lived $^{92}\text{Nb}$ by up to two orders of magnitude, bringing their abundances into agreement with the observations. The best match is found when oscillations commence within $10\text{ km}$ of the proto-neutron star surface, indicating fast collective oscillations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2026

Neutrino Flavor Transformation in Collapsing Supermassive Objects

The collapse of supermassive stars (SMSs, $M\gtrsim10^4\,M_\odot$) to black holes is accompanied by a prodigious flux of neutrinos of all flavors. These are produced thermally via $e^\pm$ annihilations, mostly in the core and just before gravitational trapped surface formation. There, the ratio of fluxes for $ν_e\barν_e$-pairs to $ν_μ\barν_μ/ν_τ\barν_τ$-pairs is $\sim$\,5-to-1. This is because at SMS temperature scales, $ν_e\barν_e$ pairs have both charged and neutral current production channels, whereas $ν_μ\barν_μ/ν_τ\barν_τ$-pairs only have neutral current production channels. We point out that the typical energies of these neutrinos, and the run of density in collapsing radiation-dominated supermassive configurations, leads to Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) resonances inside these objects for the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting scale, $Δm^2_\mathrm{atm.}\sim2.4\times10^{-3}$ eV$^2$. In the normal neutrino mass hierarchy, adiabatic flavor transformation through the MSW resonances would then swap the fluxes $ν_e\leftrightharpoonsν_{μ,τ}$, whereas, in the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy, the anti-neutrino fluxes are swapped, $\barν_e\leftrightharpoons\barν_{μ,τ}$. We also examine the prospects for collective neutrino flavor oscillations in these environments. Implications for flavor oscillation's effects on neutrino energy deposition and neutrino-induced nucleosynthesis in the SMS's outer layers are examined, as are prospects for detections of SMS collapses through various means.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

$νp$-process in Core-Collapse Supernovae: Imprints of General Relativistic Effects

The origin of a number of proton-rich isotopes in the solar system has been a long-standing puzzle. A promising explanation is the $νp$-process, which is posited to operate in the neutrino-driven outflows that form inside core-collapse supernovae after shock revival. While recent studies have analyzed several relevant physical effects that influence the efficiency of this process, the impact of General Relativity (GR) on it remains unexplored. We perform a comparative analysis of the time-integrated $νp$-process yields in Newtonian and fully GR calculations, using detailed models of time-evolving outflow profiles. The GR effects are seen to suppress the production of seed nuclei, significantly boosting the resulting $p$-nuclide abundances. Our reference GR model, with an 18~$M_\odot$ progenitor, reproduces both the relative and absolute solar system abundances of the entire set of the $p$ nuclides in the mass range $74\leq A\leq102$. The yields are suboptimal in our 12.75~$M_\odot$ GR model, where the outflow transitions to the supersonic regime several seconds into the explosion, suppressing further $p$-nuclide production. In both models, most of the production of the crucial $^{92,94}{\rm Mo}$ and $^{96,98}{\rm Ru}$ $p$ isotopes occurs relatively early, 1--3 seconds after shock revival. In contrast, a large fraction of the shielded isotope $^{92}{\rm Nb}$ is produced in the subsequent ejecta. The impact of GR on this isotope is especially large, with its final abundance boosted by a factor of 25 compared to a Newtonian calculation. In summary, with the GR effects taken into account, the $νp$-process in a sufficiently massive progenitor can provide a unifying explanation for the origin of all $p$ nuclei in the solar system up to $^{102}$Pd.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Flavor Equilibration of Supernova Neutrinos: Exploring the Dynamics of Slow Modes

Neutrinos experience collective flavor conversion in extreme astrophysical environments such as core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). One manifestation of collective conversion is slow flavor conversion (SFC), which has recently attracted renewed interest owing to its ubiquity across different regions of the supernova environment. In this study, we systematically examine the evolution of kinematic decoherence in a dense neutrino gas undergoing SFC, considering lepton number asymmetries as large as $30\%$. Our findings show that the neutrino gas asymptotically evolves toward a generic state of coarse-grained flavor equilibration which is constrained by approximate lepton number conservation. The equilibration occurs within a few factors of the inverse vacuum oscillation frequency, $ω^{-1}$, which corresponds to (anti)neutrinos reaching near flavor equipartition after a few kilometers for typical supernova neutrino energies. Notably, the quasi-steady state of the neutrino number densities can be quantitatively described by the neutrino-antineutrino number density ratio $n_{\barν_e}/n_{ν_e}$ alone. Such a simple estimation opens new opportunities for incorporating SFC into CCSN simulations, particularly in regions where SFC develops on scales much shorter than those of collisions.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Collisions and collective flavor conversion: Integrating out the fast dynamics

In dense astrophysical environments, notably core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers, neutrino-neutrino forward scattering can spawn flavor conversion on very short scales. Scattering with the background medium can impact collective flavor conversion in various ways, either damping oscillations or possibly setting off novel collisional flavor instabilities (CFIs). A key feature in this process is the slowness of collisions compared to the much faster dynamics of neutrino-neutrino refraction. Assuming spatial homogeneity, we leverage this hierarchy of scales to simplify the description accounting only for the slow dynamics driven by collisions. We illustrate our new approach both in the case of CFIs and in the case of fast instabilities damped by collisions. In both cases, our strategy provides new equations, the slow-dynamics equations, that simplify the description of flavor conversion and allow us to qualitatively understand the final state of the system after the instability, either collisional or fast, has saturated.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Symmetry breaking due to multi-angle matter-neutrino resonance in neutron star merger remnants

Neutron star merger remnants are unique sites for exploring neutrino flavor conversion in dense media. Because of the natural excess of $\barν_e$ over $ν_e$, the neutrino-neutrino potential can cancel the matter potential, giving rise to matter-neutrino resonant flavor conversion. Under the assumption of two (anti)neutrino flavors and spatial homogeneity, we solve the neutrino quantum kinetic equations to investigate the occurrence of the matter-neutrino resonance within a multi-angle framework. We find that isotropy is broken spontaneously, regardless of the mass ordering. Relying on a hydrodynamical simulation of a binary neutron star merger remnant with a black hole of $3\ M_\odot$ and an accretion torus of $0.3\ M_\odot$, we find that complete flavor conversion caused by the matter-neutrino resonance is unlikely, although the matter and neutrino potentials cancel at various locations above the disk. Importantly, the matter-neutrino resonant flavor conversion crucially depends on the shape of the neutrino angular distributions. Our findings suggest that an accurate modeling of the neutrino angular distributions is necessary to understand flavor conversion physics in merger remnants, its implications on the disk physics and synthesis of the elements heavier than iron.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Neutrino Fast Flavor Pendulum. Part 2: Collisional Damping

In compact astrophysical objects, the neutrino density can be so high that neutrino-neutrino refraction can lead to fast flavor conversion of the kind $ν_e \barν_e \leftrightarrow ν_x \barν_x$ with $x=μ,τ$, depending on the neutrino angle distribution. Previously, we have shown that in a homogeneous, axisymmetric two-flavor system, these collective solutions evolve in analogy to a gyroscopic pendulum. In flavor space, its deviation from the weak-interaction direction is quantified by a variable $\cos\vartheta$ that moves between $+1$ and $\cos\vartheta_{\rm min}$, the latter following from a linear mode analysis. As a next step, we include collisional damping of flavor coherence, assuming a common damping rate $Γ$ for all modes. Empirically we find that the damped pendular motion reaches an asymptotic level of pair conversion $f=A+(1-A)\cos\vartheta_{\rm min}$ (numerically $A\simeq 0.370$) that does not depend on details of the angular distribution (except for fixing $\cos\vartheta_{\rm min}$), the initial seed, nor $Γ$. On the other hand, even a small asymmetry between the neutrino and antineutrino damping rates strongly changes this picture and can even enable flavor instabilities in otherwise stable systems.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Neutrino Flavor Pendulum Reloaded: The Case of Fast Pairwise Conversion

In core-collapse supernovae or compact binary merger remnants, neutrino-neutrino refraction can spawn fast pair conversion of the type $ν_e \barν_e \leftrightarrow ν_x \barν_x$ (with $x=μ, τ$), governed by the angle-dependent density matrices of flavor lepton number. In a homogeneous and axially symmetric two-flavor system, all angle modes evolve coherently, and we show that the nonlinear equations of motion are formally equivalent to those of a gyroscopic pendulum. Within this analogy, our main innovation is to identify the elusive characteristic of the lepton-number angle distribution that determines the depth of conversion with the "pendulum spin." The latter is given by the real part of the eigenfrequency resulting from the linear normal-mode analysis of the neutrino system. This simple analogy allows one to predict the depth of flavor conversion without solving the nonlinear evolution equations. Our approach provides a novel diagnostic tool to explore the physics of nonlinear systems.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

A three Higgs doublet model with symmetry-suppressed flavour changing neutral currents

We construct a three-Higgs doublet model with a flavour non-universal ${\rm U}(1)\times \mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. That symmetry induces suppressed flavour-changing interactions mediated by neutral scalars. New scalars with masses below the TeV scale can still successfully negotiate the constraints arising from flavour data. Such a model can thus encourage direct searches for extra Higgs bosons in the future collider experiments, and includes a non-trivial flavour structure.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Fast flavor conversion of neutrinos in presence of matter bulk velocity

A dense gas of neutrinos and antineutrinos can undergo fast pairwise conversions near the decoupling regions of core-collapse supernovae and in compact binary neutron star mergers. The flavor dependent neutrino heating can play a role in sustaining convection inside the hot and dense matter. In this paper, we study the unexplored effect of the bulk velocity of matter on fast pairwise conversions and demonstrate that depending on the direction and the magnitude of the bulk velocity, neutrino flavor conversions could be significantly enhanced or suppressed. The bulk velocity of matter, which is usually neglected in the context of neutrino oscillations, can reach values of one-tenth of the speed of light in astrophysical environments. We find that bulk velocities much smaller than the maximum allowed velocities can substantially change the neutrino flavor conversion rate. The demonstration of possible enhancement of neutrino flavor conversion rate due to the bulk velocity of matter also raises several important issues that are of relevance in the supernova mechanism. Future studies with realistic velocity profiles could elucidate the possible implications on the phenomenology of core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Multi-Dimensional Solution of Fast Neutrino Conversions in Binary Neutron Star Merger Remnants

Fast pairwise conversions of neutrinos are predicted to be ubiquitous in neutron star merger remnants with potentially major implications on the nucleosynthesis of the elements heavier than iron. We present the first sophisticated numerical solution of the neutrino flavor evolution above the remnant disk within a (2+1+1) dimensional setup: two spatial coordinates, one angular variable, and time. We look for a steady-state flavor configuration above the remnant disk. Albeit the linear stability analysis predicts flavor instabilities at any location above the remnant disk, our simulations in the non-linear regime show that fast pairwise conversions lead to minimal neutrino mixing (<1%); flavor equilibration is never achieved in our models. Importantly, fast neutrino conversions are more prominent within localized regions near the edges of the (anti)neutrino decoupling surfaces and almost negligible in the polar region of the remnant. Our findings on the role of fast pairwise conversions should be interpreted with caution because of the approximations intrinsic to our setup and advocate for further work within a more realistic framework.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Neutrino propagation hinders fast pairwise flavor conversions

Neutrino flavor conversions may dramatically affect the inner working of compact astrophysical objects as well as the synthesis of the heavier elements. We present the first sophisticated numerical solution of the neutrino flavor conversion within a (2+1+1) dimensional setup: we include the advective term in the neutrino equations of motion and track the flavor evolution in two spatial dimensions, one angular variable, and time. Notably, the advective term hinders the development of neutrino pairwise conversions, if the conditions favoring such conversions (i.e., crossings between the angular distributions of $ν_e$ and $\barν_e$ or a non-negligible flux of neutrinos traveling backward with respect to the main propagation direction) exist for time scales shorter than the typical time scale of the advective term. As a consequence, fast pairwise conversions can only occur when the conditions favoring flavor conversions are self-sustained and global, such as the ones induced by the lepton emission self-sustained asymmetry (LESA) in core-collapse supernovae. Our work highlights the major impact of the dynamical evolution of the neutrino field on the growth of flavor instabilities and the strong interplay between classical and quantum effects. Critical limitations of the linear stability analysis, used to predict neutrino flavor instabilities, are also pointed out.

astro-ph.HE↗