Masses of Multiquark Droplets

Abstract

The mass formulae for finite lumps of strange quark matter with $u$, $d$ and $s$ quarks, and non-strange quark matter consisting of $u$ and $d$ quarks are derived in a non-relativistic potential model. The finite-size effects comprising the surface, curvature and even, the Gauss curvature were consistently obtained, which shows a converging trend. It is found that there is a possibility for the formation of metastable strangelets of large mass. The model predicts low charge to mass ratio as the characteristic signature of strange matter in agreement with the relativistic studies. This study also yields an independent estimate for the bag energy density $B$, which is in agreement with the M.I.T bag model value.