Results (schematic) (IMAGE)
Caption
In a simplified picture, the electrons act as a magnifying glass, providing experimental access to the structure of the tiny atomic nucleus. Interactions between the electrons and the nucleus give rise to the so-called hyperfine structure, which was investigated using microwave radiation emitted from a horn antenna. The measurements reveal that the nuclear magnetization is distributed over a finite volume (right), in contrast to a simplified point-like model of the nucleus, which would produce a purely dipolar magnetic pattern (left).
Credit
J. Jiang, A. V. Viatkina, Saaswath JK, M. Steinel, M. Filzinger, E. Peik, S. G. Porsev, M. S. Safronova, A. Surzyhkov, and N. Huntemann: High-resolution spectroscopy of 173Yb+ ions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 023001 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1103/rcdh-s4d7
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CC BY