Submitted by Oheligud t3_11pm5bs in askscience
Quantum_Patricide t1_jc4rwsb wrote
Reply to comment by Sable-Keech in As they still have a neutral charge, can antineutrons replace neutrons in a regular atom? by Oheligud
If you look at the quantum energy levels, the proton and the antineutron, being distinct fermions, can occupy the same energy level (in this case the 1s orbital) and so would be literally in the same place as opposed to far away.
Secondly, the nuclear interaction inside nuclei essentially consists of nucleons swapping quarks with eachother (and creating virtual antiquarks so overall a meson is the exchange particle). So if the proton and the antineutron were bound then an up quark would move from the proton to the antineutron but interact with the antiup quark there and annihilate.
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