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Neutronium (or neutrium, neutrite, or element zero) is a hypothetical substance made purely of . The word was coined by scientist Andreas von Antropoff in 1926 (before the 1932 discovery of the neutron) for the hypothetical "element of atomic number zero" (with no protons in its nucleus) that he placed at the head of the periodic table (denoted by -). However, the meaning of the term has semantic change, and from the last half of the 20th century onward it has been also used to refer to extremely dense substances resembling the neutron-degenerate matter theorized to exist in the cores of .
The term is not used in the scientific literature either for a condensed form of matter, or as an element, and theoretical analysis expects no bound forms of neutrons without protons.
The dineutron hypothesis had been used in theoretical studies of the structure of exotic nuclei. For example 11Li is modeled as a dineutron bound to a 9Li core. A system made up of only two neutrons is not bound, though the attraction between them is very nearly enough to make them so. This has some consequences on nucleosynthesis and the abundance of the chemical elements.
A trineutron state consisting of three bound neutrons has not been detected, and is not expected to be bound.
A tetraneutron is a hypothetical particle consisting of four bound neutrons. Reports of its existence have not been replicated. "Tetra-Neutron Experiment: Understanding of Nuclear Forces Might Have To Be Significantly Changed". . SciTechDaily, December 12, 2021. Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Calculations indicate that the hypothetical pentaneutron state, consisting of a cluster of five neutrons, would not be bound.
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