Scientists have spotted the clearest signs yet of tetraneutrons.
). In the new study, the researchers report observing around 30 clusters. The bump on the new plot is much clearer, she says. “I have no doubts on this measurement.”
But theoretical calculations of what happens when four neutrons collide have raised skepticism as to whether a tetraneutron resonance can exist. If the forces between neutrons were strong enough to create a tetraneutron resonance, certain types of atomic nuclei should exist that are known not to, says theoretical nuclear physicist Natalia Timofeyuk of the University of Surrey in Guildford, England.
Because of that contradiction, she thinks that the researchers have not observed a true resonance, but another effect that is not yet understood. For example, she says, the bump could result from a “memory” that the neutrons retain of how they were arranged inside the helium-8 nucleus. Other types of theoretical calculations are a closer match with the new results. “Indeed, theoretical results are very controversial, as they either predict a tetraneutron resonance in good agreement with the results presented in this paper, or they don’t predict any resonance at all,” says theoretical nuclear physicist Stefano Gandolfi of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Further calculations will be needed to understand the results of the experiment.
New experiments could help too. Because detecting neutrons, which have no electric charge, is more difficult than detecting charged particles, the researchers didn’t directly observe the four neutrons. In future experiments, Duer and colleagues hope to spot the neutrons and better pin down the tetraneutrons’ properties.Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at
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