In a collaborative effort, scientists from the University of Surrey, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and the IFIN-HH research institute in Romania have obtained direct evidence of pulsing, pear-shaped structures within atomic nuclei. The research, published in Physical Review Letters, focuses on gadolinium-150, a rare-earth element isotope used in superconductors and MRI contrast materials.
Using high-precision gamma-ray measurements, the team observed a strong collective "octupole excitation," where protons and neutrons vibrate in a coordinated pattern, forming the asymmetric shape. This finding offers a "femtoscope" view into subatomic structures, challenging current theoretical models to explain the complex interactions that create these shapes. The discovery provides stringent tests for models explaining hadronic matter interactions at the sub-atomic level, opening new avenues in quantum physics and nuclear structure understanding.