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In particle physics, hexaquarks, alternatively known as sexaquarks,[1] are a large family of hypothetical particles, each particle consisting of six quarks or antiquarks of any flavours. Six constituent quarks in any of several combinations could yield a colour charge of zero; for example a hexaquark might contain either six quarks, resembling two baryons bound together (a dibaryon), or three quarks and three antiquarks.[2] Once formed, dibaryons are predicted to be fairly stable by the standards of particle physics.
A number of experiments have been suggested to detect dibaryon decays and interactions. In the 1990s, several candidate dibaryon decays were observed but they were not confirmed.[3][4][5]
There is a theory that strange particles such as hyperons[6] and dibaryons[7][8] could form in the interior of a neutron star, changing its mass–radius ratio in ways that might be detectable. Accordingly, measurements of neutron stars could set constraints on possible dibaryon properties.[9] A large fraction of the neutrons in a neutron star could turn into hyperons and merge into dibaryons during the early part of its collapse into a black hole [citation needed]. These dibaryons would very quickly dissolve into quark–gluon plasma during the collapse, or go into some currently unknown state of matter.
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In 2014, a potential dibaryon was detected at the Jülich Research Center at about 2380 MeV. The center claimed that the measurements confirm results from 2011, via a more replicable method.[10][11] The particle existed for 10−23 seconds and was named d*(2380).[12] This particle is hypothesized to consist of three up and three down quarks, and has been proposed as a candidate for dark matter.[13][14][15]
The study found that production of stable d*(2380) hexaquarks could account for 85% of the Universe's dark matter.[16][17]
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In 1977, Robert Jaffe proposed that a possibly stable H dibaryon with the quark composition udsuds could notionally result from the combination of two uds hyperons.[18][1][19][20][21][22][23][24]
- Deuteron, the only known stable composite particle that consists of six quarks.
- Dineutron, an unstable dibaryon.
- Diproton, another unstable dibaryon.
- Exotic hadron
- Pentaquark
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