Emergent geometry and duality in the carbon nucleus

Journal Article · 14 May 2023 · Nature Communications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38391-y · OSTI ID:1973721

Shen, Shihang ; Elhatisari, Serdar ; Lähde, Timo A. ; Lee, Dean ; Lu, Bing-Nan; Meißner, Ulf-G.

Abstract The carbon atom provides the backbone for the complex organic chemistry composing the building blocks of life. The physics of the carbon nucleus in its predominant isotope, ¹² C, is similarly full of multifaceted complexity. Here we provide a model-independent density map of the geometry of the nuclear states of ¹² C using the ab initio framework of nuclear lattice effective field theory. We find that the well-known but enigmatic Hoyle state is composed of a “bent-arm” or obtuse triangular arrangement of alpha clusters. We identify all of the low-lying nuclear states of ¹² C as having an intrinsic shape composed of three alpha clusters forming either an equilateral triangle or an obtuse triangle. The states with the equilateral triangle formation also have a dual description in terms of particle-hole excitations in the mean-field picture.

• Research Organization: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0013365; SC0021152
• OSTI ID: 1973721
• Journal Information: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 14; ISSN 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English