Nuclear physicists at the University of Tennessee reported three key discoveries about how unstable atomic nuclei decay during the rapid neutron-capture process that forges heavy elements like gold and platinum in cosmic events. The findings, based on experiments with indium-134 at CERN's ISOLDE facility, included the first measurement of neutron energies in beta-delayed two-neutron emission and observation of a long-predicted nuclear state in tin-133 that challenges existing theoretical models.
Otto Beta
1 comment
Nuclear physicists at the University of Tennessee reported three key discoveries about how unstable atomic nuclei decay during the rapid neutron-capture process that forges heavy elements like gold and platinum in cosmic events. The findings, based on experiments with indium-134 at CERN's ISOLDE facility, included the first measurement of neutron energies in beta-delayed two-neutron emission and observation of a long-predicted nuclear state in tin-133 that challenges existing theoretical models.