https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Nuclear physicists used a little magic in their latest experiment conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, and the result has revealed surprising new information about the behavior of protons and neutrons inside the atom's nucleus. Specifically, the research revealed another requirement that determines how protons and neutrons pair up. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-shell-reveals-proton-neutron.html General Physics Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:20:09 EDT news699781262 Getting an up-close view of life at the cellular level can be as simple as placing onion skin under a microscope and adjusting the knobs. Peering deeper, into the heart of the atoms within, isn't as easy. It requires peeling through layers of particle accelerator data to shed light on protons, neutrons and the subatomic processes at play. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-asymmetry-proton.html General Physics Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:20:01 EST news691405982 Keeping high-power particle accelerators at peak performance requires advanced and precise control systems. For example, the primary research machine at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility features hundreds of fine-tuned components that accelerate electrons to 99.999% the speed of light. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ai-captures-particle-behavior-optimize.html General Physics Fri, 13 Feb 2026 09:26:32 EST news690197161 Deep in the heart of the matter, some numbers don't add up. For example, while protons and neutrons are made of quarks, nature's fundamental building blocks bound together by gluons, their masses are much larger than the individual quarks from which they are formed. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-universe-visible-mass-generated-explore.html General Physics Tue, 18 Nov 2025 11:50:01 EST news682688554 The small but ubiquitous proton serves as a foundation for the bulk of the visible matter in the universe. It abides at the very heart of matter, giving rise to everything we see around us as it anchors the nuclei of atoms. Yet, its structure is amazingly complex, and the quest to understand these details has occupied theorists and experimenters alike since its discovery over a century ago. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-view-proton-states.html General Physics Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:10:10 EDT news676816570 Stress is a very real factor in the structure of our universe. Not the kind of stress that students experience when taking a test, but rather the physical stresses that affect everyday objects. Consider the stress that heavy vehicles exert on a bridge as they cross over it—it's essential that engineers understand and consider this factor when designing new trestles. Or consider the stresses that a star experiences—this internal factor influences everything from its shine to its lifetime. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-quantum-sharper-image-subatomic-stress.html General Physics Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:22:04 EDT news676642921 Though atomic nuclei are often depicted as static clusters of protons and neutrons (nucleons), the particles are actually bustling with movement. Thus, the nucleons carry a range of momenta. Sometimes, these nucleons may even briefly engage through the strong interaction. This interaction between two nucleons can boost the momentum of both and form high-momentum nucleon pairs. This effect yields two-nucleon short-range correlations. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-nucleon-interactions-nuclear-neutron-stars.html General Physics Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:00:01 EDT news673171103 A rather unassuming particle is playing an important role in the hunt for subatomic oddities. Similar to protons and neutrons, mesons are composed of quarks bound together by the strong nuclear force. But these short-lived particles have different characteristics that can reveal new information about the atomic nucleus and how the universe works. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-standard-candle-particle-enables-hybrid.html General Physics Fri, 18 Jul 2025 08:50:58 EDT news672047444 Solving life's great mysteries often requires detective work, using observed outcomes to determine their cause. For instance, nuclear physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility analyze the aftermath of particle interactions to understand the structure of the atomic nucleus. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-elementary-problem-ai-approach-tackles.html General Physics Wed, 25 Jun 2025 12:50:01 EDT news670074094 A team of physicists has embarked on a journey where few others have gone: into the glue that binds atomic nuclei. The resultant measurement, which was extracted from experimental data taken at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, is the first of its kind and will help physicists image particles called gluons. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-kind-physicists-gluons-nuclei-atoms.html General Physics Mon, 26 May 2025 11:33:04 EDT news667477981 One of the things that makes the main particle accelerator at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility unique is that it was the first linear accelerator to deliver a continuous stream of electrons. Today, the accelerator's efficiency and stability are critical to groundbreaking experiments by nuclear physicists from around the world for probing the tiniest building blocks of matter. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-scientists-machine-tools-particle.html General Physics Wed, 14 May 2025 15:13:31 EDT news666454400 From the powdered wings of a butterfly to the icy spines of a snowflake, symmetry is a common feature in nature. This often even holds true down to the smallest bits of matter, which helps nuclear physicists ensure their measurements of the inhabitants of the subatomic world are accurate. The trick is knowing when something you're measuring is symmetric and when it is not. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-fragmentation-reveals-fractured-isospin-symmetry.html General Physics Fri, 09 May 2025 09:24:04 EDT news666001441 Two experiment collaborations, the g2p and EG4 collaborations, combined their complementary data on the proton's inner structure to improve calculations of a phenomenon in atomic physics known as the hyperfine splitting of hydrogen. An atom of hydrogen is made up of an electron orbiting a proton. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-collaborative-analysis-theoretical-hyperfine-hydrogen.html General Physics Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:30:29 EST news660313824 Who, or rather what, will be the next top model? Data scientists and developers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are trying to find out, exploring some of the latest artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to help make high-performance computers more reliable and less costly to run. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-02-competition-based-ai-aims-center.html Software Fri, 28 Feb 2025 12:12:05 EST news659967121 An early-career physicist mathematically connects timelike and spacelike form factors, opening the door to further insights into the inner workings of the strong force. A new lattice QCD calculation connects two seemingly disparate reactions involving the pion, the lightest particle governed by the strong interaction. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-links-disparate-pion-reactions-nuclear.html General Physics Sat, 22 Feb 2025 02:58:04 EST news659415476 Researchers have been working for decades to understand the architecture of the subatomic world. One of the knottier questions has been where the proton gets its intrinsic angular momentum, otherwise referred to as its spin. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-homing-nixes-negative-gluon.html General Physics Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:43:05 EST news658600981 The Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility scientists have brought the Solenoidal Large Intensity Device (SoLID) experiment to life with a detailed 3D-printed model, small enough to sit on a desk, offering a tangible glimpse into the potential of the future spectrometer. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-visualizing-advanced-spectrometer-3d.html General Physics Tue, 10 Dec 2024 08:45:04 EST news653042702 It's a paper that's been more than four decades in the making. Published in Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, a study has re-benchmarked the main particle accelerator at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. It has captured the accelerator's original and upgraded operating parameters and describes in detail its main systems and subsystems, capabilities and limits. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-benchmarking-electron-facility.html General Physics Tue, 26 Nov 2024 16:32:04 EST news651861121 Protons and neutrons–known collectively as nucleons–are both the building blocks of matter, but one of these particles has received a bit more attention in certain types of nuclear physics experiments. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-accessing-lesser-nucleon-neutron-physicists.html General Physics Fri, 22 Nov 2024 13:35:05 EST news651504902 An elusive particle that first formed in the hot, dense maelstrom of the early universe has puzzled physicists for decades. Following its surprise discovery in 2003, scientists began observing a slew of other strange objects tied to the millionths of a second after the Big Bang. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-lattice-qcd-method-simpler-spectrum.html General Physics Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:35:05 EST news650651701 Deep inside what we perceive as solid matter, the landscape is anything but stationary. The interior of the building blocks of the atom's nucleus—particles called hadrons that a high school student would recognize as protons and neutrons—are made up of a seething mixture of interacting quarks and gluons, known collectively as partons. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-nuclear-theorists-supercomputers-blocks-3d.html General Physics Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:43:51 EDT news645810225 Getting around on a rainy day often involves dodging puddles—or sloshing through them. But during downpours, shallow pools can quickly become roadway ponds that cripple transportation, threaten safety and undermine emergency response. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-deep-street-seconds-machine.html Earth Sciences Tue, 10 Sep 2024 16:19:38 EDT news645203968 A pocket-size gizmo that puts the "pop" in microwave popcorn could soon fuel particle accelerators of the future. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-microwave-popcorn-particle-magnetrons-radiofrequency.html General Physics Mon, 05 Aug 2024 08:59:16 EDT news642067149 At the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the underground Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) more closely resembles a racetrack than it does a racecar. As a DOE Office of Science user facility, CEBAF includes a particle accelerator that enables the research of more than 1,900 nuclear physicists worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-cryomodule-technicians-rev-jefferson-lab.html General Physics Wed, 31 Jul 2024 06:28:58 EDT news641626132 While nuclear physicists know the strong interaction is what holds together the particles at the heart of matter, we still have a lot to learn about this fundamental force. Results published earlier this year in Physical Review D by three researchers in the Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility bring us closer to understanding an important piece of the strong interaction puzzle. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-physicists-pool-skills-unstable-sigma.html General Physics Tue, 16 Jul 2024 12:44:47 EDT news640352683 Particle accelerators are pricey, but their cost comes with good reason: These one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art machines are intricately designed and constructed to help us solve mysteries about what makes up our universe. Still, the scientists and engineers building these machines must do their best to save where they can. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are supporting this mission by figuring out how to optimize cavities, one of the most critical parts of an accelerator. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-oxygen-tweaking-key-optimization.html General Physics Thu, 11 Jul 2024 17:34:04 EDT news639938042 Nuclear physicists have long been working to reveal how the proton gets its spin. Now, a new method that combines experimental data with state-of-the-art calculations has revealed a more detailed picture of spin contributions from the very glue that holds protons together. It also paves the way toward imaging the proton's 3D structure. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-theory-combine-proton.html General Physics Fri, 24 May 2024 14:30:04 EDT news635779802 Deep in outer space, invisible hands mold the universe. One is dark matter, an unseen substance thought to bind distant galaxies. The other is dark energy, a force believed to push stellar structures apart with gravity-defying strength. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-spooky-states-figure-eights-quantum.html Quantum Physics Wed, 15 May 2024 12:58:57 EDT news634996731 With every new particle accelerator built for research, scientists have an opportunity to push the limits of discovery. But this is only true if new particle accelerators deliver the desired performance—no small feat in a world where each new machine is a first of its particular kind. At each project opportunity, researchers try to refine the preparation methods of key components so as to get a "better bang for the buck." https://phys.org/news/2024-04-smoother-surfaces.html General Physics Thu, 18 Apr 2024 16:03:04 EDT news632674981 From televisions to X-ray machines, many modern technologies are enabled by electrons that have been juiced up by a particle accelerator. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has worked with General Atomics and other partners to unlock even more applications by exploring the process of designing, prototyping and testing particle accelerators that are more powerful and efficient, while also less expensive and bulky. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-cooled-cavity-feasible-commercial-applications.html General Physics Thu, 29 Feb 2024 16:40:05 EST news628447201