${}^3$H production via neutron-neutron-deuteron recombination

TL;DR

This paper investigates the process of forming tritium (${ }^3$H) from neutron-neutron-deuteron recombination using realistic nuclear models, finding it occurs much slower than radiative capture at relevant densities.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical calculation of the neutron-neutron-deuteron recombination process using exact four-nucleon equations and complex-energy methods.

Findings

Recombination of neutrons and deuterons into tritium is slower than radiative capture.

Calculated neutron-${}^3$H elastic and total cross sections.

Recombination rate is negligible at astrophysical densities.

Abstract

We study the recombination of two neutrons and deuteron into neutron and ${}^3$H using realistic nucleon-nucleon potential models. Exact Alt, Grassberger, and Sandhas equations for the four-nucleon transition operators are solved in the momentum-space framework using the complex-energy method with special integration weights. We find that at astrophysical or laboratory neutron densities the production of ${}^3$H via the neutron-neutron-deuteron recombination is much slower as compared to the radiative neutron-deuteron capture. We also calculate neutron-${}^3$H elastic and total cross sections.