Revealing the mysteries of the universe under the skin of an atomic nucleus (IMAGE)
Caption
When a star dies, the violent ending can lead to the birth of a neutron star. Neutron stars are real heavyweights in the universe – a teaspoon of the several-kilometer celestial body would weigh a billion tons. There is an unimaginable size difference between the atomic nucleus of the isotope lead-208 and a neutron star, but it is largely the same physics that describes their properties. Now researchers at Chalmers have developed a new computational model to study the atomic nucleus of lead. The 126 neutrons (red) in the nucleus form an outer envelope, which can be described as a skin. How thick the skin is, is linked to the strong force. By predicting the thickness of the neutron skin, knowledge can increase about how the strong force works – both in atomic nuclei and in neutron stars.
Credit
JingChen | Chalmers University of Technology | Yen Strandqvist
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