Re: Heavy Protons & Life Without Hydrogen

Luke Campbell wrote:
A deuteron is a bound state of a neutron and proton. If the binding
energy is more than the rest mass energy of an electron and the
difference in rest mass energy of a neutron and proton, the reaction
n+n -> D+e+nu_bar
will happen spontaneously, in the same way that
p+p -> D+positron+nu
in our world. Neutron-neutron fusion would be mediated by the weak
nuclear force, so the cross section will be small.

I can certainly see how that could happen, but why would it be the rate-limiting step? Why couldn't a pair of neutrons fuse straight to a dineutron, emitting the energy as photons or other particles, without involving the weak nuclear force?

In any event, suppose you do get deuterium by this method; it still won't last long, because the proton will rapidly decay back into a neutron.

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