A new spin on nuclei

Magnetic rotation is a new phenomenon that is forcing physicists to rethink their understanding of what goes on inside the nucleus The rotation of quantum objects has a long and distinguished history in physics. In 1912 the Danish scientist Niels Bjerrum was the first to recognize that the rotation of molecules is quantized. In 1938 Edward Teller and John Wheeler observed similar features in the spectra of excited nuclei, and suggested that this was caused by the nucleus rotating. But a more complete explanation had to wait until 1951, when Aage Bohr (the son of Niels) pointed out that rotation was a consequence of the nucleus deforming from its spherical shape. We owe much of our current understanding of nuclear rotation to the work of Bohr and Ben Mottelson, who shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physics with James Rainwater for developing a model of the nucleus that combined the individual and collective motions of the neutrons and protons inside the nucleus. What makes it possible for a nucleus to rotate? Quantum mechanically, a perfect sphere cannot rotate because it appears the same when viewed from any direction and there is no point of reference against which its change in position can be detected. To see the rotation the spherical symmetry must be broken to allow an orientation in space to be defined. For example, a diatomic molecule, which has a dumbbell shape, can rotate about the two axes perpendicular to its axis of symmetry. A quantum mechanical treatment of a diatomic molecule leads to a very simple relationship between rotational energy, E, and angular momentum. This energy is found to be proportional to J(J + 1), where J is the angular momentum quantum number. The molecule also has a magnetic moment that is proportional to J. These concepts can be applied to the atomic nucleus. If the distribution of mass and/or charge inside the nucleus becomes non-spherical then the nucleus will be able to rotate. The rotation is termed ''collective'' because many of the nucleons (the protons and neutrons) are involved. These nucleons follow well defined orbits inside the nucleus, just like electrons in an atom. The stability of a particular nucleus is closely related to the energies of these orbits. Small changes in the spatial alignment of these orbits lead to changes in the angular momentum (or spin) of the nucleus. Like molecules, nuclei have magnetic moments that are proportional to their angular momentum for a fixed configuration of nucleons. (author)