Re: Two neutron stars on a collision course?

On 4 m=E4rts, 05:18, Tim Little <t...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On 2008-03-03, Crown-Horned Snorkack <chornedsnork...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> > The neutrons in the torn-out pieces decay over a period of 1000
> > seconds.
>
> That's a decay rate appropriate to isolated neutrons, but not to bulk
> neutron matter.  The energy density in the pressure of a neutron star
> core is far more than the energy of neutron decay anyway.
>
But the whole pressure energy is expended to lift the matter out of
the gravity well. The energy of neutron decay isn=B4t.

> > Some beta-minus radioactive nuclei decay faster, but even the least
> > stable of nuclei short of neutron dripline
>
> All but the very upper surface of a neutron star is way, way beyond
> the neutron dripline.
>
Yes, but the very upper surface is the first to spill over Roche
lobes.

Anyway, if you have bulk neutron matter and release the pressure (and
electron chemical potential), any existing protons, and any protons
formed by free neutron decay, should capture two neutrons and form
tritons. This is where it stops: tritons cannot capture free neutrons
because they are already at dripline (hydrogen 4, 5 et cetera are all
unbound states) and they cannot fuse unless they are at high density
and temperature for a long time. As for triton beta decay, their 12
year half-life is far bigger than the 12 min half-life of a free
neutron.

So, does bulk neutron star matter get converted into tritium?