Abstract
A beam of (140±0.5)-MeV was produced at the Berkely 184-in. cyclotron and used to study the finalstate interactions of three and four neutrons, and to look for excited levels of the particle through the reactions Only one such level is found, with an excitation energy of 32 MeV and an intrinsic width smaller than our 1-MeV resolution. We find that our data on the four-neutron final state, although not inconsistent with phase space, agree more closely with the assumption that there is a final-state interaction between two of the neutrons, the other two not interacting. We find, too, that deuteron production is down by a factor of from proton production, and that the proton spectrum indicates a stronger-than-expected interaction between the three neutrons in the final state. Lower limits for the production of a tri- or tetraneutron are set.
- Received 17 May 1968
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.175.1358
©1968 American Physical Society