On the Metastability of the Cosmic-Ray Centauro Quark-Matter Fireball

We discuss the possible metastability of the cosmic-ray Centauro quark-matter fireball in terms of the equalization of the quark-gluon and vacuum pressures and the radius of the fireball, as deduced from the calculated thermodynamic quantities. We find that, due to the very high baryon density and binding energy and the very small volume of the fireball, it may be possible that it becomes a metastable state, with presumably sufficient lifetime to travel a distance of about 15km, from the point of creation to the altitude of decay or interaction.