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Circumvention of Parker's bound on galactic magnetic monopoles

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Abstract

There is a possibility that a magnetic monopole has been observed by Cabrera1. The monopole density implied by the observation appears to violate bounds on the density of such particles derived from the total mass density of the Universe and from the existence of galactic magnetic fields. We show here that the observation is not inconsistent with these bounds if the monopoles and antimonopoles are bound into positronium like states with principal quantum n high enough so that the Earth's magnetic field will break them apart, but small enough so that the weaker galactic magnetic field will not. We determine a range of values for n and show that lifetimes for such bound states are longer than the current age of the Universe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Particle Theory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712, USA

    Duane A. Dicus

  2. Strategic Affairs Division, US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Washington, DC, 20451, USA

    Vigdor L. Teplitz

  3. Physics Department, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USA

    Vigdor L. Teplitz

Authors
  1. Duane A. Dicus
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  2. Vigdor L. Teplitz
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Dicus, D., Teplitz, V. Circumvention of Parker's bound on galactic magnetic monopoles. Nature 303, 408–409 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/303408a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/303408a0

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