New Method to Limit Abundance of Cosmic Ray Quarks

Leona Marshall Libby, F. J. Thomas

ResearchPublished 1968

A contribution to the search for quarks, fundamental physical particles hypothesized by Murray Gell-Mann that carry an electric charge a third or two-thirds that of the proton and arrive on earth via cosmic rays. Considerations of quark chemistry are used in determining an upper limit on their density by a new method, based on the calculation that negative quarks would catalyze fission of heavy elements whether or not strong nuclear forces are important. Quarks de-excited to the lowest orbit could still induce fission in metals having a fission energy such that the process is exothermic. Under these assumptions, one quark would cause fission catalysis equivalent to a 220-watt power source in U-235 and even in U-238, not now useful for power production. A high flux of quarks would destroy nuclear devices and heavy metals, perhaps even bismuth, lead and gold. No such results have been observed in stockpiled fissionable materials, suggesting a low density of quarks at the energies and fluxes available on the surface of the earth.

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  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1968
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 7
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Document Number: P-3814

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RAND Style Manual
Libby, Leona Marshall and F. J. Thomas, New Method to Limit Abundance of Cosmic Ray Quarks, RAND Corporation, P-3814, 1968. As of September 18, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P3814.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Libby, Leona Marshall and F. J. Thomas, New Method to Limit Abundance of Cosmic Ray Quarks. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1968. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P3814.html. Also available in print form.
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