Atomic nuclei are self-organized, many-body quantum systems bound by strong nuclear forces within femtometre-scale space. These complex systems manifest a variety of shapes, traditionally explored using non-invasive spectroscopic techniques at low energies. However, at these energies, their instantaneous shapes are obscured by long-timescale quantum fluctuations, making direct observation challenging. Here we introduce the collective-flow-assisted nuclear shape-imaging method, which images the nuclear global shape by colliding them at ultrarelativistic speeds and analysing the collective response of outgoing debris. This technique captures a collision-specific snapshot of the spatial matter distribution within the nuclei, which, through the hydrodynamic expansion, imprints patterns on the particle momentum distribution observed in detectors. We benchmark this method in collisions of ground-state uranium-238 nuclei, known for their elongated, axial-symmetric shape. Our findings show a large deformation with a slight deviation from axial symmetry in the nuclear ground state, aligning broadly with previous low-energy experiments. This approach offers a new method for imaging nuclear shapes, enhances our understanding of the initial conditions in high-energy collisions and addresses the important issue of nuclear structure evolution across energy scales.
Abdulhamid, M. I., et al. "Imaging shapes of atomic nuclei in high-energy nuclear collisions." Nature (London), vol. 635, no. 8037, Nov. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08097-2
Abdulhamid, M. I., Aboona, B. E., Adam, J., Adams, J. R., Agakishiev, G., Aggarwal, I., Aggarwal, M. M., Ahammed, Z., Aitbaev, A., Alekseev, I., Alpatov, E., Aparin, A., Aslam, S., Atchison, J., Averichev, G. S., Bairathi, V., Cap, J. Ball, Barish, K., ... Zyzak, M. (2024). Imaging shapes of atomic nuclei in high-energy nuclear collisions. Nature (London), 635(8037). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08097-2
Abdulhamid, M. I., Aboona, B. E., Adam, J., et al., "Imaging shapes of atomic nuclei in high-energy nuclear collisions," Nature (London) 635, no. 8037 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08097-2
@article{osti_2476249,
author = {Abdulhamid, M. I. and Aboona, B. E. and Adam, J. and Adams, J. R. and Agakishiev, G. and Aggarwal, I. and Aggarwal, M. M. and Ahammed, Z. and Aitbaev, A. and Alekseev, I. and others},
title = {Imaging shapes of atomic nuclei in high-energy nuclear collisions},
annote = {Atomic nuclei are self-organized, many-body quantum systems bound by strong nuclear forces within femtometre-scale space. These complex systems manifest a variety of shapes, traditionally explored using non-invasive spectroscopic techniques at low energies. However, at these energies, their instantaneous shapes are obscured by long-timescale quantum fluctuations, making direct observation challenging. Here we introduce the collective-flow-assisted nuclear shape-imaging method, which images the nuclear global shape by colliding them at ultrarelativistic speeds and analysing the collective response of outgoing debris. This technique captures a collision-specific snapshot of the spatial matter distribution within the nuclei, which, through the hydrodynamic expansion, imprints patterns on the particle momentum distribution observed in detectors. We benchmark this method in collisions of ground-state uranium-238 nuclei, known for their elongated, axial-symmetric shape. Our findings show a large deformation with a slight deviation from axial symmetry in the nuclear ground state, aligning broadly with previous low-energy experiments. This approach offers a new method for imaging nuclear shapes, enhances our understanding of the initial conditions in high-energy collisions and addresses the important issue of nuclear structure evolution across energy scales.},
doi = {10.1038/s41586-024-08097-2},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2476249},
journal = {Nature (London)},
issn = {ISSN 0028-0836},
number = {8037},
volume = {635},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
year = {2024},
month = {11}}
Abilene Christian University, TX (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
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Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 499, Issue 2-3https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9002(02)01974-5
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 661https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2010.07.086