Diffuse Supernova Neutrinos with Secret Neutrino Interactions

Abstract

The Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background (DSNB), an isotropic flux arising from the cumulative neutrino emission of all stellar core-collapse events throughout cosmic history, is expected to be detected by next-generation neutrino observatories. As DSNB neutrinos propagate over cosmological distances through the cosmic neutrino background (C$ν$B), they may undergo non-standard neutrino self-interactions ($ν$SI), leaving distinct spectral imprints on the observed flux. In this work, we investigate the impact of scalar ($ϕ$)-mediated $ν$SI on the DSNB within a full three-flavor framework that retains the complete PMNS structure. We consider four representative flavor-diagonal coupling structures--universal, $e$-, $μ$-, and $τ$-specific. The resonant scattering $ν_iν_k\toϕ\toν_jν_l$ off the lightest, relativistic C$ν$B state produces broad spectral depletion whose pattern depends on the coupling structure and the neutrino mass ordering, generating distinctive signatures across the six flavor fluxes. We compute the resulting event spectra at JUNO, Hyper-Kamiokande with gadolinium loading, and DUNE, and derive projected $3σ$ sensitivities in the $(m_ϕ,~g)$ parameter plane. We find that these experiments can probe couplings as low as $g\sim10^{-8}$ for $m_ϕ\sim100$--$300$ eV, surpassing existing bounds by up to a few orders of magnitude in the sub-100 eV mass range. Moreover, unlike the flavor-blind cosmological and supernova bounds, the DSNB sensitivity is flavor-discriminating, offering a unique opportunity to identify the underlying flavor structure of $ν$SI in the event of a detection.