Connection between flavor-mixing of cosmologically significant neutrinos and heavy element nucleosynthesis in supernovae

Abstract

We use heavy element nucleosynthesis from supernovae to probe the mixing of ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathit{e}}$ with ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}$ (or ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$) possessing cosmologically significant masses (1 to 100 eV). We conclude that the ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}$(${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$)-${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathit{e}}$ vacuum mixing angle must satisfy ${\mathrm{sin}}^{2}$2\ensuremath{\theta}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}5}$, in order to ensure that r-process heavy elements can be produced in neutrino-heated supernova ejecta. Mixing at a level exceeding this limit precludes r-process nucleosynthesis in this site.