Neutron-rich matter in heaven and on Earth

Piekarewicz, Jorge; Fattoyev, Farrukh J.

doi:10.1063/pt.3.4247

Title: Neutron-rich matter in heaven and on Earth

Journal Article · 01 July 2019 · Physics Today

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/pt.3.4247 · OSTI ID:1610203

Piekarewicz, Jorge ^[1]; Fattoyev, Farrukh J. ^[2]

Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)
Manhattan College, New York, NY (United States)

Where do neutrons go? The elusive answer to such a seemingly simple question provides fundamental new insights into the structure of both atomic nuclei and neutron stars. To place the question in the proper context, consider lead-208, the element’s most abundant isotope, which contains 82 protons and 126 neutrons. As the heaviest known doubly magic nucleus, ²⁰⁸Pb holds a special place in the nuclear-physics community. Just as noble gases with filled electronic shells exhibit low levels of chemical reactivity, doubly magic nuclei with filled proton and neutron shells display great stability. Because ²⁰⁸Pb is heavy, the Coulomb repulsion among its protons leads to a large neutron excess. The Lead RadiusExperiment, or PREX, at the Thomas Jefferson National AcceleratorFacility in Virginia was built to measure the location of ²⁰⁸Pb’s 44 excess neutrons.1 In turn, a detailed knowledge of the neutron distribution in ²⁰⁸Pb illuminates the structure of a neutron star.

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Research Organization:: Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)

Grant/Contract Number:: FG02-92ER40750

OSTI ID:: 1610203

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1894915

Journal Information:: Physics Today, Vol. 72, Issue 7; ISSN 0031-9228

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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