"Traditionally, exploring the interior of atomic nuclei requires enormous particle accelerators that stretch for kilometers and propel beams of electrons at extremely high speeds," [1]writes SciTechDaily .

But MIT physicists have unveiled a groundbreaking alternative that "used the atom's own electrons as probes to momentarily enter the nucleus..."

> In [2]research published in Science , a team of MIT physicists achieved exceptionally precise measurements of the energy of electrons orbiting a radium atom that had been chemically bonded with a fluoride atom to form radium monofluoride. By studying these molecules, the researchers created a kind of miniature particle collider. Within this environment, the electrons surrounding the radium atom were confined closely enough to occasionally slip into the nucleus before returning to their usual orbits... When those electrons returned to their outer paths, they retained the altered energy, effectively carrying a "message" from within the nucleus that could be decoded to reveal its internal arrangement...

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> [The researchers] trapped and cooled the molecules and sent them through a system of vacuum chambers, into which they also sent lasers, which interacted with the molecules. In this way, the researchers were able to precisely measure the energies of electrons inside each molecule. When the researchers analyzed their measurements, they noticed that the electrons carried slightly different energies than expected if they had remained outside the nucleus. The difference was incredibly small, only about one millionth of the energy of the laser photon used to excite the molecules, but it was clear evidence that the electrons had entered the radium nucleus and interacted with its protons and neutrons...

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> The researchers plan to use this new technique to create a detailed map of how forces are distributed inside the nucleus... to chart the nucleus with greater precision and search for possible violations of fundamental symmetries in nature.

"It is thought that additional sources of fundamental symmetry violation are required to explain the almost complete absence of antimatter in our universe," the article points out. "Such violations could be seen within the nuclei of certain atoms such as radium...

"Unlike most atomic nuclei, which are spherical in shape, the radium atom's nucleus has a more asymmetrical configuration, similar to a pear. Scientists predict that this pear shape could significantly enhance their ability to sense the violation of fundamental symmetries, to the extent that they may be potentially observable."



[1] https://scitechdaily.com/mits-radical-new-method-lets-scientists-see-inside-atoms/

[2] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adm7717