Spinors and Scalars in curved spacetime: Neutrino dark energy (DEν)

We study the interaction, in general curved spacetime, between a spinor and a scalar field describing dark energy; the so-called DE. model in curved space. The dominant term is the dimension 5 operator, which results in different energy shifts for the neutrino states: an Aharonov-Bohm-like effect. We study the phenomenology of this term and make observational predictions to detect dark energy interactions in the laboratory due to its effect on neutrino oscillation experiments, which opens up the possibility of designing underground experiments to detect dark energy. This dimension 5 operator beyond the Standard Model interaction is less suppressed than the widely discussed dimension 6 operator, which corresponds to mass varying neutrinos; the dimension 5 operator does not suffer from gravitational instabilities. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study explores the interaction between a spinor and a scalar field describing dark energy in general curved spacetime. It focuses on the dominant dimension 5 operator, which causes different energy shifts for neutrino states, similar to the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The research also predicts observational possibilities of detecting dark energy interactions in laboratory settings.