Is the existence of strangelets predicted by the standard model?

[Noja888]

Does anyone know what the probability of creating a strangelet in the LHC would be? Do all applications of QM predict the possibility of a strangelet? Is a strangelet a strong prediction in the (SM) or kind of like a wormhole(this might be a bad example for some) - a sort of fuzzy prediction that is not quite solid in accuracy?

 

[ansgar]

you can google, and use the search function in this forum.

 

[Noja888]

I did some "Google-ing"...

(Answering my own question here - heh)
I see that it depends on its actual surface tension whether it can collect more matter into strange matter(loosely speaking the terms here). Also the energy levels that the LHC will run at make it more unlikely to create a strangelet. I would link the info I found but it was on "LHC - doomsday" topics and that's not my focus. I read that some propose that neutron stars could be quark stars. Anyone have a link other than wiki on this? Thank-ee.

 

[Hepth]

Check the arxiv, lots of stuff on strange starts (quark stars, etc).

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0812/0812.4491v3.pdf

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0606/0606093v1.pdf

 

[bcrowell]

Do all applications of QM predict the possibility of a strangelet? Is a strangelet a strong prediction in the (SM) or kind of like a wormhole(this might be a bad example for some) - a sort of fuzzy prediction that is not quite solid in accuracy?

No, the existence of strangelets is not predicted by the standard model. The standard model has a lot of adjustable parameters. In addition, it's not currently possible to use the SM to make high-precision predictions for many-body sysystems, simply because the calculations are intractable. People trying to make theoretical predictions about strangelets generally don't use the SM directly, they use phenomenological models of the strong nuclear force, and these models contain lots and lots of parameters that have to be fitted to experiment. The calculations are not good enough to predict firmly whether strangelets exist or not. Past experiments have failed to detect them, so it's believed that they do not exist. I don't think there's any special reason to think that the LHC will bring anything new to this game. What's new about the LHC is the higher energy, but if strangelets were stable, then you wouldn't need that much energy to produce them; the energies available in previous accelerators would have been sufficient.