A Search for Radiative Neutrino Decay from Supernovae
Session 120 -- Galactic Gamma Rays
Oral presentation, Thursday, 12, 1995, 2:00pm - 3:30pm

## [120.09] A Search for Radiative Neutrino Decay from Supernovae

R.S.Miller, J.M.Ryan (UNH), R.C.Svoboda (LSU)

A search for a massive neutrino species has been made using the COMPTEL instrument aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory . Assuming an unstable massive neutrino species is produced in core collapse (type-II) supernovae, we have searched for evidence of a possible single-photon radiative decay mode. A detailed numerical simulation has been developed to model the evolution of the hypothesized radiative decay signature of supernova neutrinos. We have applied this model to observations of the nearest and most recent type-II supernovae 1987A and 1993J. Lack of evidence for the proposed neutrino instability allows us to set improved neutrino lifetime limits of up to 5 orders of magnitude, if the neutrino mass is greater than \$\sim\$10 keV.