Li Qingsong named the product particle of this proton decay "Photino," meaning a tiny particle similar to a photon.
The photino particle was simply filled with all kinds of negative attributes, and even Li Qingsong couldn't find a suitable detection method for a while.
Given the extremely long lifespan of protons, the density of photinos in the universe is even lower than that of magnetic monopoles. Detecting magnetic monopoles is already so cumbersome, so would he have to build hundreds of thousands of similar detectors to try to capture photinos?
The amount of work was simply too large, so large that Li Qingsong could hardly bear it.
A more critical question was, how did the other ordinary electroweak civilizations complete the detection of photinos?
It was impossible for them to achieve this by building hundreds of thousands of detectors.
Even Li Qingsong didn't have this industrial strength, so how could they possibly have it?
This meant that there must be another detection method that could capture photinos with a smaller investment of industrial resources.
But... what method was that?
Li Qingsong fell into a long period of contemplation. Not only Li Qingsong, but the Blueprint scientists also joined in the task of thinking and exploring.
Time passed quietly, and Li Qingsong's various theoretical breakthroughs were still proceeding non-stop.
Various small scientific theoretical branches under the grand theoretical framework, or breakthroughs at the mathematical level, etc., occurred almost every day.
They were like flesh and blood, attaching little by little to the "skeleton" of the theoretical framework established by Li Qingsong, making this framework more and more perfect.
But unfortunately, the aspect of proton decay was still a blank slate.
Even the skeleton had not yet been successfully built, so there was no talk of flesh and blood.
Regarding this, Li Qingsong had no choice but to persevere day after day, and think year after year.
Scientific research, especially basic theoretical research, is like this. There are no shortcuts, only grinding bit by bit, and walking step by step. Relying on a little bit of accumulation, to seek that potentially breakthrough theory.
It was under this situation that one day, an inconspicuous breakthrough caught Li Qingsong's attention.
This was not a breakthrough at the basic theoretical level, but should be considered a discovery in a branch aspect.
This breakthrough was related to the core of gas giant planets. Under the previous development of various theories and mathematical levels, Li Qingsong completed the latest modeling work on the core of gas giant planets, using more parameters and higher computing power to more realistically simulate the operation mechanism of the core of gas giant planets, providing theoretical support for the gas convection, atmospheric element abundance changes, etc. of gas giant planets.
This meant that Li Qingsong now had the ability to make predictions with higher accuracy about the weather changes of gas giant planets.
This seemed to have nothing to do with proton decay, but Li Qingsong had an inspiration because of this.
He discovered that the core of a gas giant planet... seemed to have some potential to become a scientific research site.
A typical gas giant planet, such as Jupiter in the solar system, is divided into four parts from the outside to the inside: the outer atmosphere, the supercritical fluid molecular hydrogen layer, the liquid metallic hydrogen layer, and the core.
Further in, about 20,000 kilometers from the surface, the state of hydrogen elements changes again.
They become liquid metallic hydrogen.
Because the pressure and temperature are too high, the electrons of the hydrogen atoms have detached from the nucleus and become free electrons, possessing metal-like properties, hence they are called metallic hydrogen.
The atmospheric pressure in this part is as high as millions of times that of Earth, and the temperature is as high as tens of thousands of degrees Celsius.
Further inward, to the very core of the gas giant planet, is a solid core similar to Earth, mainly composed of iron, nickel, and silicate rocks.
In the early stages of planet formation, gas giant planets and rocky planets were actually no different, except for one being large and the other being small.
The size of the Earth can only absorb as much gas as the Earth's atmosphere, and eventually become a rocky planet.
But when the mass reaches two or three times that of the Earth, it can absorb more gas, and eventually evolve into a gas giant planet similar to Jupiter.
Li Qingsong discovered based on the simulation model that the liquid metallic hydrogen layer of gas giant planets may have the potential to become a scientific research environment.
It has a scientific research environment because Li Qingsong, after calculation, believes that it is possible to find key evidence of proton decay there!
This is certainly not to find evidence through photino detection, but through another mode.
The liquid metallic hydrogen layer of gas giant planets has extremely high pressure and extremely high material density.
Proton decay will cause protons to turn into photinos and escape from the core of the gas giant planet.
The general process is similar to a person using all their strength to squeeze a spring hard. As a result, the spring suddenly disappears.
Obviously, this person will suddenly slam on the ground, thereby causing a "vibration".
Usually, this vibration is extremely small. Because the probability of proton decay is extremely low.
However, among the multiple gas giant planets existing in the Pegasus V432 galaxy, the smallest one has a mass of about times that of Jupiter.
The pressure there is extremely high, similar to that of the person squeezing the "spring" with great force.
This mechanism will amplify the small vibrations caused by proton decay.
According to Li Qingsong's estimation, its liquid metallic hydrogen layer has a total mass of about times the mass of Jupiter, and the number of protons is about 10^54.
Existing evidence shows that the lifespan of a proton is 10^37 years.
Calculated in this way, on average, about 10^17 protons decay in the liquid metallic layer of this gas giant planet every year, and on average, about billion protons decay every second.
Protons themselves play a role in supporting the material structure in the liquid metallic hydrogen layer with extremely high pressure, just like small springs.
Every second, about billion of these small springs suddenly disappear. Correspondingly, the surrounding material suddenly loses support, which will cause that "vibration".
So... is it possible to prove the existence of proton decay and study the process of proton decay by detecting this "vibration"?
Li Qingsong was not sure whether this detection path was feasible.
After all, billion protons sounds like a lot, but in reality, the total mass is not even comparable to a virus.
Is there really a possibility that the "vibration" caused by such a tiny mass loss can be observed?
Intuitively, Li Qingsong felt that it was somewhat impossible. But at this stage, there seemed to be no other way, so let's explore it and verify the feasibility.
