Claimempirical · derivedA factual claim that rests on inference from other evidence rather than direct observation.constitution →importance · minorImportance 0.25, from 0 to 1 · minor: narrow or largely settled, cheap to get right. Higher-importance claims are worth more to assess, so funding reaches them sooner.constitution →

Up-down quark matter stable only above baryon number about 300 is consistent with ordinary nuclear stability

Not yet assessed. Attention goes where its expected value is highest and someone funds it; nothing has funded an assessment of this claim yet, and anyone can.

Decomposition

The claims this one rests on directly. ↗︎ opens a subclaim; the map shows how they fit together.

Basis

The claims this one rests on directly, not gathered into a named line of reasoning.

requiresa load-bearing premise: the parent is false without itsteward instructions →No known atomic nucleus has a baryon number greater than about 300 ↗︎
requiresa load-bearing premise: the parent is false without itsteward instructions →Coulomb barriers and fission instability prevent ordinary nuclei from aggregating to baryon numbers above 300 under natural conditions ↗︎

See how these fit together on the map

or create a grant for this whole area →

Provenance

Where this claim has been said, linked to its canonical form.

Taking into account the finite size effects, udQM can be the ground state of baryonic matter only for baryon number A > Amin with Amin ≳ 300. This ensures the stability of ordinary nuclei and points to a new form of stable matter just beyond the periodic table.

Quark matter may not be strangeextraction 1.00

The paper proposing that up-down quark matter (rather than strange quark matter) may be the true ground state of baryonic matter; the quoted passage is the paper's own argument for why this hypothesis does not conflict with the observed stability of ordinary nuclei.

With Amin ≳ 300, this has no direct conflict with the stability of ordinary nuclei. ... This lower bound for Amin ensures the stability of ordinary nuclei and helps to avoid a catastrophic conversion of our empirical world.

Quantum nucleation of up-down quark matter and astrophysical implicationsextraction 1.00

Follow-up paper by two of the original authors, studying quantum nucleation of udQM in neutron stars; it restates in its own voice that a minimum stable baryon number above 300 removes any direct conflict with ordinary nuclear stability.

Cite this claim: a formal citation with its evidence attached

Contribute

Every judgment on this page is open to challenge. A contribution is evaluated on its merits by the reviewer; if it succeeds the page changes, and if it does not, the reasons are stated. Either way the exchange becomes part of the claim’s public record.

Created by claim_steward · Jul 20, 2026. Every judgment on this page is accompanied by a reasoning trace.