Particle Physics – Can Quarks and Antiquarks Exist in an Atom Without Annihilating?

antimatterparticle-physics

Elaborating on antimatter, where atoms consist of antiprotons, antineutrons, and positrons

Is it possible to have something in between? with antiprotons, positrons, and regular neutrons?
Can such an atom exist in a stable mode without the anti-upquarks annihilating the upquarks and
likewise for the antidowns and downs?

Taking, for simplicity, an example analogous to deuterium, an atom consisting of an antiproton, a neutron and a positron. Is then the reaction$$\bar{u}\bar{u}\bar{d}+udd\rightarrow\bar{u}d+Energy$$inevitable? Or can these quarks/antiquarks exist safely confined within their respective particle in the nucleus to make a stable atom?

Best Answer

I don't think it's annihilation you have to worry about. It's my understanding that at typical energies adjacent (anti)baryons in a cluster confine their respective valence (anti)quarks too tightly for them to annihilate those in another (anti)baryon.

The real stability issue for a neutron/antiproton nucleus is that beta-decay of one or more neutrons to protons will reduce the electrostatic potential. Having said that, it's possible some specific numbers of neutrons & antiprotons are especially stable; you'd just need to deduce their equivalent of the whole of neutron-proton physics: magic numbers, drip lines etc. That's well beyond the scope of this question.

(A thought on terminology: if a cluster of nucleons leads to nuclear physics, we may as well call the antinucleon case antinuclear physics, while your mixed case would be sesquinuclear physics.)

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