This new result has allowed researchers to determine the reason behind a large discrepancy in the data between two different methods used to measure the proton鈥檚 electric form factor.
Diamonds are one of the most coveted gemstones. But while some may want the perfect diamond for its sparkle, physicists covet the right diamonds to perfect their experiments. The gem is a key component in a novel system that enables precision measurements that could lead to the discovery of new physics in the sub-atomic realm 鈥 the domain of the particles and forces that build the nucleus of the atom.
A team of researchers has successfully demonstrated a new method for producing a beam of polarized positrons, a method that could enable a wide range of applications and research, such as improved product manufacturing and polarized positron beams to power breakthrough scientific research.
The first experimental result has been published from the newly upgraded Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The result demonstrates the feasibility of the experiment that is designed to study quark confinement: why no quark has ever been found alone.
Physicians have long used CT scans to get 3D imagery of the inner workings of the human body. Now, physicists are working toward getting their first CT scans of the inner workings of the nucleus. A measurement of quarks in helium nuclei published last fall in Physical Review Letters demonstrates that 3D imaging of the inner structure of the nucleus is now possible.
A new result from the Q-weak experiment at the Department of Energy鈥檚 Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility provides a precision test of the weak force, one of four fundamental forces in nature. This result, published recently in Nature, also constrains possibilities for new particles and forces beyond our present knowledge.
Inside every proton in every atom in the universe is a pressure cooker environment that surpasses the atom-crushing heart of a neutron star. That鈥檚 according to the first measurement of a mechanical property of subatomic particles, the pressure distribution inside the proton, which was carried out by scientists at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.
A new study carried out at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has confirmed that increasing the number of neutrons as compared to protons in the atom鈥檚 nucleus also increases the average momentum of its protons. The nuclear physics result, which has implications for the dynamics of neutron stars, has been published in the journal Nature.
An experiment that aims to gain new insight into the force that binds all matter together has recently completed its first phase of data collection. The Gluonic Excitations Experiment, or GlueX, is designed to produce and study hybrid mesons, which are particles that are built of the same stuff as ordinary protons and neutrons: quarks bound together by the 鈥済lue鈥 of the strong force. But unlike ordinary mesons, the glue in hybrid mesons behaves differently by actively contributing to the particles鈥 properties.
A careful re-analysis of data taken at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has revealed a possible link between correlated protons and neutrons in the nucleus and a 35-year-old mystery. The data have led to the extraction of a universal function that describes the EMC Effect, the once-shocking discovery that quarks inside nuclei have lower average momenta than predicted, and supports an explanation for the effect. The study has been published in the journal Nature.