Neutron and weak-charge distributions of the Ca-48 nucleus
Journal article, 2016
What is the size of the atomic nucleus? This deceivably simple question is difficult to answer. Although the electric charge distributions in atomic nuclei were measured accurately already half a century ago, our knowledge of the distribution of neutrons is still deficient. In addition to constraining the size of atomic nuclei, the neutron distribution also impacts the number of nuclei that can exist and the size of neutron stars. We present an ab initio calculation of the neutron distribution of the neutron-rich nucleus Ca-48. We show that the neutron skin (difference between the radii of the neutron and proton distributions) is significantly smaller than previously thought. We also make predictions for the electric dipole polarizability and the weak form factor; both quantities that are at present targeted by precision measurements. Based on ab initio results for Ca-48, we provide a constraint on the size of a neutron star.
Author
G. Hagen
A. Ekstrom
Christian Forssen
Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics
G. R. Jansen
W. Nazarewicz
T. Papenbrock
K. A. Wendt
S. Bacca
N. Barnea
Boris Karlsson
Chalmers, Physics, Subatomic and Plasma Physics
C. Drischler
K. Hebeler
M. Hjorth-Jensen
M. Miorelli
G. Orlandini
A. Schwenk
J. Simonis
Physical Review C. V. P. Rlson J
Nature Physics
1745-2473 (ISSN) 17452481 (eISSN)
Vol. 12 2 186-190Subject Categories
Subatomic Physics
Physical Sciences
Roots
Basic sciences
DOI
10.1038/nphys3529