Radioactivity of Quark Nuggets

TL;DR

This paper models the properties of quark nuggets as exotic, potentially radioactive objects using theoretical models, aiming to guide their detection in astrophysical events like neutron star mergers.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical analysis of quark nugget properties, including radioactivity, using the degenerate Fermi gas and Friedberg-Lee models, which is novel for this context.

Findings

Quark nuggets can exhibit gamma decay, beta decay, and spontaneous fission.

Their properties differ from ordinary nuclei, affecting their stability and decay modes.

Guidance for detecting quark nuggets in astrophysical phenomena is provided.

Abstract

Quark nuggets $^A_ZQ$, as Fermionic non-topological solitons, could have their mass per baryon smaller than ordinary nuclei and behave as exotic nuclei with different relations of atomic number and atomic mass number. Using both the degenerate Fermi gas model and the Friedberg-Lee shell model, we calculate the properties of quark nuggets made of up and down quarks. Similar to ordinary nuclei, quark nuggets could exhibit their own radioactivity, including gamma decay, beta decay, and (explosive) spontaneous fission, with the qualitative properties presented here. These quark nugget properties may provide guidance for searching for quark nuggets in situ from binary neutron star mergers.