Tag Archive for 'Alpha particle'

Mirror nuclei, such as oxygen-18 and neon-18, have the same number of protons and neutrons (18), but while oxygen-18 has 8 protons and 10 neutrons, neon-18 has 10 protons & 8 neutrons. When they absorb enough energy, they can decay and emit an alpha particle (2 protons and 2 neutrons). Image credit: M. Barbui.

Nuclear Physicists Find Evidence of Superradiance in Mirror Nuclei

Jun 28, 2023 by News Staff

Superradiance occurs when an atomic nucleus reaches a high excitation energy. Mirror nuclei, such as oxygen-18 and neon-18, have the same number of protons...

Schematic illustration of the quasi-elastic reaction investigated by Duer et al. Top: quasi-elastic scattering of the helium-4 (4He) core from a helium-8 (8He) projectile off a proton target in the laboratory frame. The length of the arrows represents the momentum per nucleon (the velocity) of the incoming and outgoing particles. Zbeam is the beam axis. Bottom: the equivalent p-4He elastic scattering in their center-of-mass frame, where we consider reactions at backward angles close to 180°. In this frame, the momentum of the proton balances that of 4He, Pp=−P4He, that is, the proton is four times faster than 4He. Image credit: Duer et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04827-6.

Physicists Observe Elusive Four-Neutron System: Tetraneutron

Jun 23, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Physicists using the Superconducting Analyzer for Multi-particles from Radio Isotope Beams (SAMURAI) in Japan have experimentally observed a resonance-like...

Enhanced α-particle preformation in 214U and 216U. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.152502.

Physicists Discover New Uranium Isotope: Uranium-214

May 14, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Physicists at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in China have observed the lightest uranium isotope to date, uranium-214 (214U), and precisely measured the...

The trace of an α particle obtained by the nuclear physicist Wolfhart Willimczik with his spark chamber specially made for α particles.

Physicists Precisely Measure Charge Radius of Alpha Particle

Jan 28, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using a method called atomic spectroscopy, an international team of physicists has produced a new value for the charge radius of the α particle, the nucleus...