What scientists call the "nuclear weak distribution" describes the distribution of "active" protons in a nucleus. These are protons that are eligible to transition into neutrons through what scientists call the "weak interaction."
Researchers recently reviewed the existing standard procedure to determine this distribution. In the study, published in Physical Review Letters, they abandoned previous treatments using nuclear shell models. Instead, they related the weak distribution to the distribution of electric charges in a nucleus. Scientists can measure this distribution by scattering electrons off nuclear targets or by studying energy levels through atomic spectroscopy.
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