New Imaging Technique Unveils Complex Shapes of Atomic Nuclei

Scientists at RHIC have developed a method using high-energy collisions to reveal intricate details of nuclear structures.

The new technique uses high-energy heavy ion collisions to capture detailed images of atomic nuclei, revealing their shapes and structures.
Research at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) demonstrated the ability to quantify nuclear shapes, including their triaxiality, which is the variation among three principal axes.
This method offers a faster and more comprehensive analysis than traditional low-energy experiments, capturing both protons and neutrons in the process.
The findings have significant implications for understanding nuclear fission, the formation of heavy elements, and exotic particle decay processes.
The technique could be applied to future studies at the Large Hadron Collider and the upcoming Electron-Ion Collider, enhancing our understanding of nuclear physics.