Tetraneutron: Rigorous continuum calculation

TL;DR

This paper rigorously analyzes the four-neutron system using continuum equations, finding no observable tetraneutron resonance and suggesting alternative explanations for experimental peaks.

Contribution

It provides a precise continuum calculation showing the absence of a tetraneutron resonance, challenging previous theoretical claims.

Findings

No observable tetraneutron resonance detected.

Resonant behavior appears only at unphysical interaction strengths.

Large transition operators at low energies may explain experimental peaks.

Abstract

The four-neutron system is studied using exact continuum equations for transition operators and solving them in the momentum-space framework. A resonant behavior is found for strongly enhanced interaction but not a the physical strength, indicating the absence of an observable tetraneutron resonance, in contrast to a number of earlier works. As the transition operators acquire large values at low energies, it is conjectured that this behavior may explain peaks in many-body reactions even without a resonance.