Abstract
Certain light nuclei can be described in terms of crystal-like arrangements of α-particles, which consist of two protons and two neutrons. The nature of the strong interaction within nuclei may explain such structures. See Letter p.341 Nucleonic matter — the protons and neutrons that comprise atomic nuclei — acts predominantly as a quantum liquid, but lighter nuclei behave more like molecules composed of clusters of protons and neutrons. Clustering is related to the overall nuclear interaction, but its detailed mechanism is not fully understood. These authors use theoretical modelling to calculate the conditions that cause clustering in neon-20, a small nucleus thought to favour clustering. They find that the depth of the confining nuclear potential plays an important part in cluster formation, with a particularly pronounced effect for relativistic functionals. More generally, clustering is considered as a transitional phenomenon between crystalline and quantum liquid phases.
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