Proton Capture by Magnetic Monopoles

The cross section for radiative capture of protons by monopoles is calculated by the use of bound-state and scattering wave functions obtained with the Kazama-Yang Hamiltonian, i.e., with a pointlike proton. For proton velocities $\beta ={10}^{-5\mathrm{}}-{10}^{-3\mathrm{}}$, the cross sections for capture into the lowest bound states, with binding energies of 938 MeV, 263 keV, and 105 eV, are found to be of the order of ${10}^{-28\mathrm{}}$ -${10}^{-26\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$. For the state with binding energy of 263 keV, the capture length in water is found to be $170{\left(\frac{\beta }{{10}^{-4\mathrm{}}}\right)}^{0.48}$ m. Observation of photons from the capture process would indicate the presence of monopoles.