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Can such tetraquarks form semi stable macroscopic structures like atoms? For example, if they aren't completely neutral, a group of them would be able to maybe
by akomtu 5y ago
Can such tetraquarks form semi stable macroscopic structures like atoms? For example, if they aren't completely neutral, a group of them would be able to maybe attract an electron and become a quasiatom of some sort.
- whatshisface 5y agoThe stable-to-strong-decay species they're talking about, bb anti-u anti-d, would have a charge of (-1 -1 -2 -1)/3 = -5/3 times the electron charge. I guess its antiparticle would be positive, so maybe an electron could hang around for a while. I don't know how long that tetraquark is expected to live, though.
- FreeFull 5y agoThe charge would actually be (-2 + 1 - 1 - 1)/3 = -1 of a proton's charge. There isn't any physically viable combination of quarks that would produce a non-integer charge. The article mentions the bb tetraquark can only decay through the weak force, but I'm not sure how long it'd live either.