Vol. 7, Issue 5, Part F (2021)

Abstract
The assertion that no potential can exist which is capable of holding an electron within the small volume of a neutron, with the requisite 500 MeV kinetic energy expected for it on the basis of the de Broglie p=h/λ relation, is considered in detail. The present work assesses this claim on the basis of recent theoretical developments which make use of the exponentially damped Breit-Pauli-Schrödinger (XPBS) equation. It is pointed out that the known extreme penetrating power of the neutrino does not constitute proof that the particle must possess a null charge-to-mass ratio. The XBPS Hamiltonian operator is thereupon adapted so as to include potentially significant short-range interactions involving the neutrino and its anti-particle. Calculations are presented which show that a neutrino charge-to mass ratio which is within the 0.5-0.7 a.u. range lead to a minimum energy for the neutron which is in good agreement with the observed value of +0.7825 MeV relative to that of its constituent particles (proton, electron and anti-neutrino) separated to infinity.