MIT Physicists Develop Molecular Method to Probe Atomic Nuclei Using Electrons as Messengers

Revolutionary Tabletop Nuclear Probing Method

Physicists at MIT have developed a groundbreaking molecular approach to investigate atomic nuclei, using the atom’s own electrons as messengers, according to reports published in the journal Science. The new technique provides a tabletop alternative to traditional kilometer-long particle accelerators, potentially revolutionizing how scientists study nuclear structure.

Molecular Particle Collider Concept

Sources indicate the research team created molecules of radium monofluoride and used them as microscopic particle colliders. By precisely measuring the energy of electrons orbiting radium atoms within these molecules, researchers reportedly detected subtle energy shifts indicating electrons had briefly penetrated the atomic nucleus and interacted with its contents.

“When you put this radioactive atom inside of a molecule, the internal electric field that its electrons experience is orders of magnitude larger compared to the fields we can produce and apply in a lab,” explained study co-author Silviu-Marian Udrescu, Ph.D. Analysts suggest this molecular environment effectively squeezes electrons, increasing their likelihood of nuclear penetration.

Addressing Cosmic Matter-Antimatter Mystery

The report states this methodology could help resolve one of cosmology’s most pressing questions: why the observable universe contains significantly more matter than antimatter. According to scientific understanding, the early universe should have contained nearly equal amounts of both, yet current observations show overwhelming matter dominance.

“Our results lay the groundwork for subsequent studies aiming to measure violations of fundamental symmetries at the nuclear level,” said co-author Ronald Fernando Garcia Ruiz, Thomas A. Franck Associate Professor of Physics at MIT. “This could provide answers to some of the most pressing questions in modern physics.”, according to technology insights

Radium’s Unique Nuclear Properties

Researchers reportedly selected radium for these experiments due to its distinctive pear-shaped nucleus, unlike the spherical nuclei of most atoms. This asymmetrical configuration is predicted to amplify symmetry violation effects, making them potentially observable. The radium nucleus’s unusual charge and mass distribution makes it particularly sensitive to fundamental symmetry breaking, according to the research team.

Study lead author Shane Wilkins, a former MIT postdoc, noted the experimental challenges: “Radium is naturally radioactive, with a short lifetime and we can currently only produce radium monofluoride molecules in tiny quantities. We therefore need incredibly sensitive techniques to be able to measure them.”

Experimental Methodology and Findings

The research team, which included collaborators from CERN’s Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy Experiment in Switzerland, reportedly trapped and cooled radium monofluoride molecules before sending them through vacuum chambers with precisely tuned lasers. This setup enabled unprecedented precision in measuring electron energies within the molecules.

Analysts suggest the detected energy shift—approximately one millionth of the laser photon energy—provided unambiguous evidence of electron-nucleus interactions. “There are many experiments measuring interactions between nuclei and electrons outside the nucleus, and we know what those interactions look like,” Wilkins explained. “When we went to measure these electron energies very precisely, it didn’t quite add up to what we expected, assuming they interacted only outside of the nucleus.”

Future Applications and Research Directions

The team reportedly plans to advance their technique by cooling molecules further and controlling the orientation of radium’s pear-shaped nuclei. This would enable precise mapping of nuclear magnetic distributions—how protons and neutrons align within the nucleus—and enhance the search for fundamental symmetry violations.

“We now have proof that we can sample inside the nucleus,” Garcia Ruiz stated. “It’s like being able to measure a battery’s electric field. People can measure its field outside, but to measure inside the battery is far more challenging. And that’s what we can do now.”

The researchers indicate that radium-containing molecules represent exceptionally sensitive systems for investigating nature’s fundamental symmetries, potentially opening new avenues for understanding the universe’s fundamental composition and behavior.

References

• https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adm7717
• https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/163372
• https://www.garciaruizlab.com/
• https://web.mit.edu/lns/
• https://physics.mit.edu/
• https://science.mit.edu/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_nucleus
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry

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