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Pear-shaped nucleus boosts search for new physics

Nature (2013)Cite this article

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The strange shape of radium 224 could lead to test alternatives to standard model.

A lopsided atomic nucleus may help to refine nuclear theory. The stubby pear shape, described today in Nature1, may also be pointing towards new tests of particle physics that could reveal why matter became more common than antimatter in the early moments of the Universe.

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References

  1. Gaffney, L. P. et al. Nature 497, 199–204 (2013).

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  2. Wollersheim, H. J. et al. Nucl. Phys. A 556, 261–280 (1993).

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  3. Yordanov, D. T. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 192501 (2013).

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Authors
  1. Stephen Battersby
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Additional information

Read the related News & Views article.

Electronic supplementary material

Rotating nuclear pear

Related links

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Related links in Nature Research

Mercury serves up a nuclear surprise 2010-Dec-01

Antimatter held for questioning 2010-Nov-17

Nuclear theory nudged 2010-Aug-24

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ISOLDE facility at CERN

Peter Butler

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Battersby, S. Pear-shaped nucleus boosts search for new physics. Nature (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2013.12952

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2013.12952

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