Scientists have uncovered an unexpected breakdown of nuclear order in a remarkably symmetric atom, challenging long-standing ...

For decades, nuclear physicists believed that "Islands of Inversion"—regions where the normal rules of nuclear structure suddenly break down—were found mostly in neutron-rich isotopes. In these ...

Mirror magic: The "cores" of the exotic nuclei oxygen-22 and silicon-22 both resemble that of oxygen-16, with eight protons and eight neutrons. The neutron-rich oxygen isotope contains an additional ...

Through mass measurements of silicon-22 combined with theoretical calculations, researchers have revealed that silicon-22 possesses a double-magic structure similar to that of oxygen-22, while also ...

The red ball, blue star and black square represent the corresponding results of Rn, Ra and Th isotopes, respectively. In the shell model, the neutron number N=126 is regarded as a neutron magic number ...

Magic numbers usually keep nuclei stable and spherical, but radioactive isotopes have revealed “Islands of Inversion,” where ...

Atomic nuclei are often described as orderly systems. Certain numbers of protons or neutrons, called magic numbers, usually produce especially stable and spherical nuclei. These numbers fill entire ...