Work

Two-proton emission as source of spin-entangled proton pairs

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We show that a two-proton emitter with a diproton-correlated initial state can act as a source of spin-correlated proton pairs. Using a time-dependent three-body model, we investigate the two-proton emission of 16 Ne ( 14 O + 2 p ) and analyze the spin correlation of the emitted protons. We find that, when the emission proceeds as a democratic three-body process from an initial state containing a spin-singlet diproton correlation, the emitted protons exhibit a pronounced spin-correlation pattern exceeding the local-hidden-variable bound. This spin correlation closely resembles that of a pure spin-singlet pair. In contrast, this pattern is lost when the process is dominated by the sequential emission or when the initial diproton correlation is absent. These results demonstrate that a certain class of two-proton emitters can deliver spin-entangled proton pairs, and their spin correlation reflects the diproton correlation embedded in the initial state.

Source: Physics Letters B

DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140439

Authors: Tomohiro Oishi, Masaaki Kimura

Institutions: National Institute of Technology, Ibaraki National College of Technology, RIKEN Nishina Center, The University of Tokyo

Language: English

Topic: Nuclear physics research studies

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: University of Tsukuba

OpenAlex ID: W4417534090

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