An Evaluation Of The Possible Effect Of Tetra-neutron Production On Ternary Fission Yields

TL;DR

This study investigates whether the inclusion of a resonant tetraneutron state influences the production yields of various clusters in nuclear reactions, finding minimal impact in ternary fission but potential effects in heavy ion collisions.

Contribution

It introduces a relativistic mean-field model to assess the impact of a tetraneutron state on cluster yields in nuclear environments, a novel approach in this context.

Findings

Tetraneutron has little effect on ternary fission yields.

Potential observable effects in heavy ion collision yields.

Model provides a new way to study neutron-rich cluster formation.

Abstract

In this work, we study the effect of including a resonant state of four neutrons in the low-density warm nuclear equation of state, using a relativistic mean-field formalism, where in-medium effects are considered. For that purpose, the abundances of 62 different clusters immersed in a gas of protons and neutrons, are calculated with and without the presence of this resonant tetraneutron state. Ternary fission experiments are environments where not only these clusters can be formed, but also where such thermodynamic conditions of low densities and moderate temperatures can be achieved. The calculated yields of isotopes with and without the tetraneutron included are then compared with experimentally observed ternary fission yields. While the results indicate that the tetraneutron has little effect on yields of other clusters under the existing ternary fission conditions, a possibly observable effect on yields of clusters emitted from the neck region in mid-peripheral heavy ion collisions is clearly suggested.