Nuclear structure & decays is a research area in nuclear physics that investigates the internal configuration, quantum states, and dynamical behavior of atomic nuclei, along with the mechanisms by which unstable nuclei transform via radioactive decay. It encompasses the development and application of models such as shell, collective, and mean-field theories to describe nucleon distributions, energy levels, and transition probabilities, and studies decay modes including alpha, beta, gamma, and fission processes. The field integrates experimental spectroscopy, reaction studies, and advanced many-body calculations to elucidate nuclear forces, shape coexistence, isomerism, and the evolution of structure far from stability, informing both fundamental theory and applications in astrophysics and nuclear technology.
For the first time, researchers have determined the shape of the actinide nucleus of fermium-255 and measured its structure with high precision and resolution.
General Physics
Aug 7, 2026
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47
Even when the lights go out and nuclear reactors are turned off, the story inside the reactor core still has a great deal to tell. Radioactive, long-lived fission products continue to decay for months or even years, producing ...
General Physics
Aug 4, 2026
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494
Where do gold, platinum and uranium come from? This question has fascinated astrophysicists and nuclear physicists for decades. A research team from Technische Universität Darmstadt has now taken an important step toward ...
General Physics
Jul 30, 2026
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A scientific team led by Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, has identified the origin of a mysterious excess of low-energy gamma rays emitted by the nucleus zinc-70. They found that the excess is caused by magnetic ...
General Physics
Jul 24, 2026
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56
In a single experiment, physicists have measured the "excess" emission of high-energy gamma rays from more than a dozen heavy, unstable atomic nuclei. Mapping the gamma-ray emissions of so many isotopes produced in nuclear ...
General Physics
Jul 16, 2026
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85
For the first time, researchers have developed a way to create chilled molecules containing the radioactive element radium. The resulting laboratory concoctions, generated in part through steps similar to those used to make ...
General Physics
Jul 16, 2026
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44
Scientists studying particle collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) usually capture what happens when atomic nuclei smash into one another at nearly the speed of light. But even when the nuclei don't collide, ...
General Physics
Jun 17, 2026
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Two independent research teams have achieved a longstanding goal in physics: building a working nuclear clock. The devices, developed by Beichen Huang and colleagues at Tsinghua University and by Luca Toscani De Col and colleagues ...
How are heavy elements formed in the universe? Extremely neutron-rich atomic nuclei and their beta-decay rates play an important role in this process. Until now, it has been very difficult to determine these rates experimentally. ...
General Physics
Jun 9, 2026
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville physicists and their colleagues have made critical measurements of the lifetime and decay energy of tellurium-104 (Te-104), an important step in answering a century-old question and understanding ...
General Physics
Jun 5, 2026
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