Monday 3 August 2020

Head-on collision between two neutrons


If two neutrons were set to collide head-on, being electrically neutral:



  1. Will they feel each other's presence due to electrostatic interaction between quarks of approaching neutrons?


  2. When they approach very close enough, will they accelerate towards each other due to the effects of residual strong force?

  3. Will the acceleration experienced by each neutron be less than the acceleration experienced in a head-on collision between a proton and an antiproton?


I came across the following, but they did not address my question:



Note: I am not a physics student. I apologize for any improper terminology.



Answer



Neutrons are not classical particles as noted by @dmckee comment and their collision must be treated as a quantum phenomenon. With this proviso the answers to your questions are:





  1. Yes they will interact electromagnetically. Neutrons have an anomalous magnetic moment so they will behave like two magnets (attracting or repelling depending upon orientation). Since they are quantum objects, only two orientations (helicity states) are possible rather than many.




  2. Yes, they will be attracted via the strong force. A neutron and a proton will bind together to form a deuteron and since the forces between two neutrons are similar (though not identical) it is possible that they might bind. Since they are quantum objects it is not certain that they will bind (note the deuteron is weakly bound). Many experimental searches have been conducted for the two neutron bound state, but (as far as I know) none have been successful.




  3. Yes, the attraction between two neutrons is expected to be less than the attraction between a proton and an anti-proton both because of the smaller electromagnetic interaction and because of a smaller strong interaction.




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