{"id":100874,"date":"2018-11-20T18:31:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T18:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/"},"modified":"2018-11-20T18:31:49","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T18:31:49","slug":"nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuclei, a new study suggests.<\/p>\n

A skyrmion is a tiny disturbance in a substance, a swirling pattern that, like a knot, is difficult to undo. In the 1960s, nuclear physicist Tony Skyrme suggested that these structures \u2014 since named after him \u2014 could represent protons and neutrons within a nucleus in theoretical calculations. But despite some initial promise, the idea hit snags. In particular, skyrmion calculations produced misshapen nuclei.<\/p>\n

But now researchers have improved their calculations of how protons and neutrons should cluster together<\/a> in the skyrmion picture. Those results agreed with expectations based on experimental data, the team reports in a study in press at Physical Review Letters<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Heres how the idea works: Inside a nucleus, particles called pions are constantly zinging around, helping to hold the nucleus together. Just as an electron has an electric field that can jostle other particles, those pions are associated with fields too. In Skyrmes original picture, protons and neutrons can be described as twists in the pion field \u2014 or skyrmions \u2014 akin to a knot tied in a piece of string.<\/p>\n

In reality, protons and neutrons are each made up of smaller subatomic particles called quarks and gluons, and the fundamental theory that describes how those particles interact, called quantum chromodynamics, is impossibly complex. Skyrmions could simplify calculations \u2014 if only the technique produced the correct answers.<\/p>\n

The right shapes[hhmc]
\n<\/h4>\n

Scientists predict that some atomic nuclei should be shaped into multiple clumps. Previously, the shapes of those nuclei, when calculated with skyrmions, displayed forms that disagreed with that prediction (top row). But new skyrmion calculations found nuclei that consisted of multiple clusters, as expected (bottom row). Colors indicate the type of pion \u2014 particles that help hold the nucleus together \u2014 that dominates in each region.<\/p>\n

Now, physicists from Durham University in England have solved some of skyrmions woes, in studies of atomic nuclei as large as carbon-12.<\/p>\n

Skyrmion calculations typically neglect heavier particles called rho mesons that are also important for keeping nuclei intact. Including those particles in the calculations changes how the skyrmion \u201cknot\u201d in the field gets tied, and the shapes of the resulting nuclei, says mathematical physicist and study coauthor Paul Sutcliffe. Its as if the knots were tied in \u201ca boring piece of string before, and now its \u2026 a colored string with some sparkles on it.\u201d As a result, \u201cyou now get the right shapes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The idea of skyrmions caught on in other fields as well. A related skyrmion shows up in spirals of magnetization<\/a> in certain solid materials (SN: 2\/17\/18, p. 18<\/em>), but magnetic skyrmions are much larger and can be manipulated at will.<\/p>\n

Researchers have long struggled to use skyrmions to study atomic nuclei, says theoretical physicist Nicholas Manton of the University of Cambridge who was not involved with the study. But the new result \u201cgets closer to being physically reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, such calculations might help scientists study surprising properties of certain nuclei. An example is carbon-14, a radioactive version of carbon that can be used to date ancient artifacts. It decays with a surprisingly long half-life of about 5,700 years. Skyrmions could help scientists better understand that strange decay, Manton says.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n

[contf]
\n[contfnew]
\n <\/p>\n

science news<\/a><\/h5>\n

[contfnewc]
\n[contfnewc]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"yoast_head":"\nNuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms - Business News Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms - Business News Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business News Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Business-NewsReport-328225811095934\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-20T18:31:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"990\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"565\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"infopal11\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BNReport\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BNReport\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"infopal11\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"infopal11\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19d1c5a2dd7f60584a09de4a7805d68f\"},\"headline\":\"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-20T18:31:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":548,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Science\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms - Business News Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-20T18:31:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/11\\\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png\",\"width\":990,\"height\":565},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0626\u064a\u0633\u064a\u0629\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Business News Report\",\"description\":\"Latest News on the World of Politics & Business\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u0628\u0632\u0646\u0633 \u0631\u064a\u0628\u0648\u0631\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\u064a\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/LOGO2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/LOGO2.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"\u0628\u0632\u0646\u0633 \u0631\u064a\u0628\u0648\u0631\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\u064a\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/Business-NewsReport-328225811095934\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/BNReport\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/business.newsreport\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19d1c5a2dd7f60584a09de4a7805d68f\",\"name\":\"infopal11\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bnreport.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/infopal11\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms - Business News Report","description":"Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms - Business News Report","og_description":"Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/","og_site_name":"Business News Report","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Business-NewsReport-328225811095934\/","article_published_time":"2018-11-20T18:31:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":990,"height":565,"url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"infopal11","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@BNReport","twitter_site":"@BNReport","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"infopal11","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/"},"author":{"name":"infopal11","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/19d1c5a2dd7f60584a09de4a7805d68f"},"headline":"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms","datePublished":"2018-11-20T18:31:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/"},"wordCount":548,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png","articleSection":["Science"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/","name":"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms - Business News Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png","datePublished":"2018-11-20T18:31:49+00:00","description":"Knotlike structures called skyrmions might help scientists untangle the inner workings of atomic nuc..","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/111318_ec_skyrmion-atom_inline_730.png","width":990,"height":565},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/nuclear-knots-could-unravel-the-mysteries-of-atoms\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0627\u0644\u0631\u0626\u064a\u0633\u064a\u0629","item":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nuclear knots could unravel the mysteries of atoms"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/","name":"Business News Report","description":"Latest News on the World of Politics & Business","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#organization","name":"\u0628\u0632\u0646\u0633 \u0631\u064a\u0628\u0648\u0631\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\u064a","url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LOGO2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/LOGO2.png","width":200,"height":50,"caption":"\u0628\u0632\u0646\u0633 \u0631\u064a\u0628\u0648\u0631\u062a \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\u064a"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Business-NewsReport-328225811095934\/","https:\/\/x.com\/BNReport","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/business.newsreport"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/19d1c5a2dd7f60584a09de4a7805d68f","name":"infopal11","url":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/author\/infopal11\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}