On the Maximum Size of a Neutron Droplet in an Ultracold Neutron Gas
Abstract:
The concept of the neutron as a translationally invariant polaron in a meson field is developed. Dineutrons are considered as paired states of such neutron polarons. The role of the meson field in the formation of the collisional mechanism of dineutron production in collisionless neutron UCN gas is emphasized. The estimate of the dineutron formation time (27 hours), obtained earlier from a comparison of the neutron lifetime in beam and bottle experiments, has been theoretically confirmed. A Bose condensate of dineutrons, which cannot exist in free form, is considered. The dynamics of paired state formation in a trap with ultracold neutrons is simulated. The characteristic size of a droplet of paired nucleon states is 10 nanometers. Potential for experimental verification of the theory is discussed.
