Physicists have described the influence of correlated nucleon pairs on the distribution of quarks and gluons within atomic nuclei. Using data from high-energy experiments, the scientists demonstrated how paired bonds between protons and neutrons within nuclei alter their structure at the parton level. The work was published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
For many decades, physicists have been studying the structure of atomic nuclei, where the interactions between their constituent protons and neutrons are described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics. Previously, scientists focused on individual nucleons within the nucleus and developed models of their behavior at high energies. However, it was recently discovered that short-lived pairs of nucleons with strong mutual correlations form within nuclei, significantly influencing the distribution of particles and the overall properties of the nucleus. However, until now, no description of this influence on the distribution of quarks and gluons within the nucleus has existed.
Physicists from Germany, Israel, the United States, and France, led by A. W. Denniston of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and T. Ježo of the University of Münster, described the influence of correlated nucleon pairs on the distribution of partons in nuclei. To do this, the scientists conducted a detailed analysis of nucleon interactions based on data on deep inelastic lepton scattering, the production of W and Z bosons, and the Drell-Yan effect. The researchers incorporated into their calculations not only individual nucleons, as in the classical approach, but also pairwise correlations, which allowed them to construct a model of the structure of quarks and gluons in nucleon pairs.
As a result, scientists were able for the first time to identify universal parameters for quarks and gluons in pairs of correlated nucleons, confirming the unique properties of such bonds in nuclei. It turned out that nucleon pairs significantly influence the distribution of elementary particles, especially at high energy levels. According to the authors, their results also support the hypothesis of the dominance of proton-neutron pairs in most nuclei, especially at high energies.
Physicists believe the results of their research will aid in understanding the nature of atomic nuclei and the relationship between nuclear and quark structures. We previously wrote about how physicists study atomic nuclei and improve theory, using the example of a study of the charge radius of nickel isotopes.
