$\mu$eV-deep neutron bound states in nanocrystals
Quantum Physics
2023-09-14 v1 Nuclear Theory
Abstract
The nuclear strong force induces the widely studied neutron scattering states and MeV-energy nuclear bound states. Whether this same interaction could lead to low-energy bound states for a neutron in the nuclear force field of a cluster of nuclei is an open question. Here, we computationally demonstrate the existence of -eV-level neutronic bound states originating from nuclear interaction in nanocrystals with a spatial extent of tens of nanometers. These negative-energy neutron wavefunctions depend on the size, dimension, and nuclear spin polarization of the nanoparticles, providing engineering degrees of freedom for the artificial neutronic "molecule".
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2309.07100,
title = {$\mu$eV-deep neutron bound states in nanocrystals},
author = {Hao Tang and Guoqing Wang and Paola Cappellaro and Ju Li},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.07100},
year = {2023}
}