Adding neutrons to synthetic atoms drastically alters shape of their nuclei, affects their stability

To probe the evolution of atomic nuclei with different shape — a factor which affects atomic stability — a large team of international researchers has added neutrons to zirconium atoms and revealed the possibility of very unusual shapes. “The shape of a nucleus reflects the symmetry of its quantum state,” explains team member Hiroyoshi Sakurai from the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science in Wako, Japan.

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Adding neutrons to synthetic atoms drastically alters shape of their nuclei, affects their stability