Friday, September 5, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Chemistry

Resolved: A long-debated anomaly in how nuclei spin

July 22, 2024
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
66
SHARES
603
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

The Science

Atomic nuclei come in different shapes, varying from football-like (“prolate”) to pancake-like (“oblate”). Prolate and oblate shapes have different moments of inertia. This is a body’s resistance to having its speed of rotation altered by an external force. Atomic nuclei having different shapes with different moments of inertia implies that it takes different amounts of energy to spin different nuclei. In previous research, measurements found that for fast rotations, for example in nuclei like neon-20 or chromium-48, the energy for spinning changes unexpectedly. Scientists attributed this to an anomalous increase in the moment of inertia for fast rotations, likely due to the nuclear matter bulging out. Earlier models suggested that fast-rotating nuclei ultimately become spheres, but newer models have found deformed shapes. Now, large-scale simulations of atomic nuclei have revealed surprising new explanations of the elusive physics of fast-spinning nuclei.

The Impact

For the first time in nearly 50 years, scientists accurately calculated the moment of inertia and studied its hypothesized anomalous increase through state-of-the-art simulations of nuclei. The simulations for neon-20 replicate the energy measurements. Remarkably, however, the simulations do not find the anomalous increase. Instead, they reveal a change in the interior of the nucleus. Similar microscopic simulations for chromium-48 confirm this surprising result. Furthermore, the results resolve the long-lasting question of whether a prolate nucleus that starts to quickly spin becomes spherical or oblate. This research shows that several competing shapes emerge, some prolate and some oblate, which on average appear spherical.

Summary

A student in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Louisiana State University (LSU), together with scientists from LSU, San Diego State University, and the Czech Academy of Sciences, precisely studied the shape content of neon-20 using a newly developed first-principles Symmetry-Adapted No-Core Shell Model theory. This framework naturally describes the deformation and cluster substructures of atomic nuclei. The framework achieves solutions that would otherwise be impossible by building blocks respecting an almost perfect symmetry within nuclei. These state-of-the-art nuclear simulations unveil a complex quantum superposition of shapes. This refutes a 50-year-old claim, based on analogy to classical rotating objects, that increasing rotations lead to an increase in the nuclear moment of inertia.

For light nuclei, neon-20 (with 10 protons and 10 neutrons) has been the canonical example of the hypothesized increase of the moment of inertia. In the novel “symmetry-adapted” calculations, the moment of inertia and the nuclear shape and intrinsic structure (see image c in the figure above) change little. Instead, mixing with a nearby nuclear state, which aligns particle spins and combines shapes, changes the energy. Similar calculations for chromium-48 confirm a fast-rotating nucleus that appears nearly spherical, in agreement with some models. This model finds this sphericity is an average from a near-equal mixing of prolate and oblate shapes (see image b in the figure above). This represents a new insight into the physics of fast-rotating nuclei.



Funding

This work was funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics. Individuals were supported by the National Science Foundation and the Czech Science Foundation. This work was performed under the auspices of DOE by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The research benefited from high performance computational resources provided by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science user facility, as well as by Frontera and LSU.

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

SNIS 2024: New study reveals possible link between gastrointestinal syndromes and risk of brain aneurysm

Next Post

Researchers enhance tool to better predict where and when wildfires will occur

Related Posts

Chemistry

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biomass-Derived N-Doped Carbon Dots Advances Metal Ion Sensing Technology

September 5, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Discovery of Protostellar Jets in Milky Way’s Outer Regions Unveils Universal Star Formation Processes

September 5, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Electron-Acceptor Engineering Tunes Dye Excitation Dynamics for Optimal Synergistic Photodynamic and Mild-Photothermal Tumor Therapy

September 5, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Simplifying Protein Upcycling: A Breakthrough in Sustainable Science

September 4, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Researchers Uncover How Brain Fluid Dynamics Fuel Cancer Spread and Reveal New Strategies to Combat It

September 4, 2025
blank
Chemistry

Chiral Magnetic Nanohelices Enable Room-Temperature Spin Control in Spintronics Breakthrough

September 4, 2025
Next Post
Rangeland wildfire

Researchers enhance tool to better predict where and when wildfires will occur

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27544 shares
    Share 11014 Tweet 6884
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    958 shares
    Share 383 Tweet 240
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    643 shares
    Share 257 Tweet 161
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    510 shares
    Share 204 Tweet 128
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    313 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biomass-Derived N-Doped Carbon Dots Advances Metal Ion Sensing Technology
  • Addressing Emerging Pollutants in China: An In-Depth Review of Current Challenges, Knowledge Gaps, and Strategic Solutions
  • Church Engagement Boosts Mental Health Recovery Empowerment
  • Enduring Benefits of OR Shadowing for New Nurses

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Blog
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,183 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading