For the first time, physicists have developed a model that explains the origins of unusually stable magic nuclei based directly on the interactions between their protons and neutrons. Published in ...

Atomic nuclei are often described as orderly systems. Certain numbers of protons or neutrons, called magic numbers, usually produce especially stable and spherical nuclei. These numbers fill entire ...

A special set of numbers has formed the backbone of nuclear physics research for decades, and now we finally know how it arises from the quantum mix of nuclear particles and forces. Nearly 80 years ...