%0 Generic %1 cline2019viable %A Cline, James M. %D 2019 %K dark interaction matter neutrino secret sterile %T Viable secret neutrino interactions with ultralight dark matter %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1908.02278 %X Several anomalies in neutrino oscillation experiments point to the existence of a $1\,$eV sterile neutrino $\nu_s$ mixing with $\nu_e$ at the level of $U_e40.1$, but such a neutrino is strongly disfavored by constraints on additional light degrees of freedom ($N_eff$) and total neutrino mass ($\sum_m_\nu$) from cosmology. ``Secret neutrino interactions'' that have been invoked to suppress the cosmological production of $\nu_s$ typically falter, but recently it was pointed out that $\nu_s$ could get a large mass in the early universe by coupling to ultralight dark matter $\phi$, which can robustly suppress its production. The model has essentially two free parameters: $m_\phi$, and $m_s,0$, the mass of the sterile neutrino at early times, enhanced by its coupling to $\phi$. I determine the parameter regions allowed by limits on $N_eff$ and $\sum_m_\nu$ from the cosmic microwave background and big bang nucleosynthesis, using a simplified yet accurate treatment of neutrino oscillations in the early universe. This mechanism could have an important impact on laboratory experiments that suggest oscillations with sterile neutrinos.

@preprint{cline2019viable, abstract = {Several anomalies in neutrino oscillation experiments point to the existence of a $\sim 1\,$eV sterile neutrino $\nu_s$ mixing with $\nu_e$ at the level of $U_{e4}\cong 0.1$, but such a neutrino is strongly disfavored by constraints on additional light degrees of freedom ($\delta N_{\rm eff}$) and total neutrino mass ($\sum_\nu m_\nu$) from cosmology. ``Secret neutrino interactions'' that have been invoked to suppress the cosmological production of $\nu_s$ typically falter, but recently it was pointed out that $\nu_s$ could get a large mass in the early universe by coupling to ultralight dark matter $\phi$, which can robustly suppress its production. The model has essentially two free parameters: $m_\phi$, and $m_{s,0}$, the mass of the sterile neutrino at early times, enhanced by its coupling to $\phi$. I determine the parameter regions allowed by limits on $\delta N_{\rm eff}$ and $\sum_\nu m_\nu$ from the cosmic microwave background and big bang nucleosynthesis, using a simplified yet accurate treatment of neutrino oscillations in the early universe. This mechanism could have an important impact on laboratory experiments that suggest oscillations with sterile neutrinos.}, added-at = {2019-08-07T06:05:22.000+0200}, author = {Cline, James M.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2b33f20bb24b0d7357c5546198dc0f78d/bdasgupta}, description = {Viable secret neutrino interactions with ultralight dark matter}, interhash = {6197ba9f8cf7067c32d7ae7abf1929fe}, intrahash = {b33f20bb24b0d7357c5546198dc0f78d}, keywords = {dark interaction matter neutrino secret sterile}, note = {cite arxiv:1908.02278Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; submitted to PLB (not PRL)}, timestamp = {2019-08-07T06:05:22.000+0200}, title = {Viable secret neutrino interactions with ultralight dark matter}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1908.02278}, year = 2019 }