Protonium

An illustration of the protonium atom.
For the isotope 1H and the corresponding hydrated ion, see Protium and Hydronium.

Protonium (symbol: Pn)[citation needed], also known as antiprotonic hydrogen, is a type of exotic atom in which a proton (symbol: p) and an antiproton (symbol: p) are bound to each other.[1]

Since protonium is a bound system of a particle and its corresponding antiparticle, it is an example of a type of exotic atom called an onium.

Protonium has a mean lifetime of approximately 1.0 μs and a binding energy of −0.75 keV.[2]

Like all onia, protonium is a boson with all quantum numbers (baryon number, flavour quantum numbers, etc.) and electrical charge equal to 0.

  1. ^ Zurlo, N.; et al. (2006). "Production Of Slow Protonium In Vacuum". Hyperfine Interactions. 172 (1–3): 97–105. arXiv:0801.3193. Bibcode:2006HyInt.172...97Z. doi:10.1007/s10751-007-9529-0. S2CID 119182686.
  2. ^ Abdel-Raouf, Mohamed Assad (2009). "Binding energy of protonium ions". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 194 (7): 072003. Bibcode:2009JPhCS.194g2003A. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/194/7/072003.