Semiclassical approach to the decay of protons in circular motion under the influence of gravitational fields

TL;DR

This paper explores the decay of protons in circular geodesic motion near neutral compact objects using a semiclassical method, comparing results with electromagnetic decay scenarios and providing consistency analyses.

Contribution

It introduces a semiclassical framework to analyze proton decay in gravitational fields, extending previous electromagnetic-focused studies.

Findings

Decay rates depend on gravitational field strength

Emitted power varies with orbital parameters

Results align with theoretical expectations for gravitational decay

Abstract

We investigate the possible decay of protons in geodesic circular motion around neutral compact objects. Weak and strong decay rates and the associated emitted powers are calculated using a semi-classical approach. Our results are discussed with respect to distinct ones in the literature, which consider the decay of accelerated protons in electromagnetic fields. A number of consistency checks are presented along the paper.