A hypertriton is a type of

hypernucleus A hypernucleus is similar to a conventional atomic nucleus, but contains at least one hyperon in addition to the normal protons and neutrons. Hyperons are a category of baryon particles that carry non-zero strangeness quantum number, which is cons ...

, formed of a

proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...

, a

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , that has no electric charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. The Discovery of the neutron, neutron was discovered by James Chadwick in 1932, leading to the discovery of nucle ...

and any

hyperon In particle physics, a hyperon is any baryon containing one or more strange quarks, but no charm, bottom, or top quarks. This form of matter may exist in a stable form within the core of some neutron stars. Hyperons are sometimes generically re ...

. The name comes from ''hyperon'', which refers to

baryon In particle physics, a baryon is a type of composite particle, composite subatomic particle that contains an odd number of valence quarks, conventionally three. proton, Protons and neutron, neutrons are examples of baryons; because baryons are ...

s containing

strange quark The strange quark or s quark (from its symbol, s) is the third lightest of all quarks, a type of elementary particle. Strange quarks are found in subatomic particles called hadrons. Examples of hadrons containing strange quarks include kaons (), ...

s, and ''triton'', which refers to the

nucleus Nucleus (: nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucleu ...

tritium Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...

. Because low-mass hyperons are longer-lived and easier to create than high-mass hyperons, the most common hypertritons are those containing

Lambda baryon The lambda baryons (Λ) are a family of subatomic hadron particles containing one up quark, one down quark, and a third quark from a higher flavour generation, in a combination where the quantum wave function changes sign upon the flavour of ...

s – H. Its antiparticle, the antihypertriton, is formed of an

antiproton The antiproton, , (pronounced ''p-bar'') is the antiparticle of the proton. Antiprotons are stable, but they are typically short-lived, since any collision with a proton will cause both particles to be annihilated in a burst of energy. The exis ...

, an

antineutron The antineutron is the antiparticle of the neutron with symbol . It differs from the neutron only in that some of its properties have equal magnitude but opposite sign. It has the same mass as the neutron, and no net electric charge, but has opp ...

and any antihyperon. The first one was discovered in March 2010 by the STAR detector of the

Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC ) is the first and one of only two operating heavy- ion colliders, and the only spin-polarized proton collider ever built. Located at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, New York, and used ...

(RHIC) at

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...

References

External links

New insight into the particle interactions that may take place at the hearts of neutron stars Systematic Nuclear Uncertainties in the Hypertriton System Hypertriton lifetime puzzle nears resolution
Exotic matter Nuclear physics Strange quark Tritium {{nuclear-stub