Groundbreaking Experiment Reveals Neutron Internal Structure for the First Time

A decade-long experiment has provided the first glimpse into the chaotic hurricane of particles inside neutron, paving the way to solve a fundamental mystery about the building blocks of matter.

Using data from the Central Neutron Detector at the US Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National §Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), researchers are beginning to map the quantum mechanics of neutron behavior. Silvia Niccolai, research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, calls this a significant milestone for nucleon studies.

Neutrons, like protons, consist of quarks bound together by gluons, but their internal dynamics are far from orderly. Instead of a neat arrangement, these particles exist in a quantum storm of constant creation and annihilation. To explore this chaos, physicists traditionally fire electrons at nuclear particles and analyze the scattered patterns, simplifying the results into quantum frameworks called partons.

While earlier high-energy particle accelerator experiments at TJNAF shed light on proton behavior, neutrons proved more elusive, with scattered electrons often escaping detection. In 2011, researchers began developing a specialized detector in collaboration with CNRS, which was installed in 2017 and began experiments in 2019. Despite challenges such as proton contamination, a machine-learning filter helped refine the data.

New Data Sheds Light on Generalized Parton Distribution (GPD) E in Neutron, Revealing Key Differences in Quark Behavior and Spin Structure of Nucleons

This data has already enhanced understanding of a poorly understood property of neutrons: generalized parton distribution (GPD) E. By comparing neutron and proton results, researchers identified key differences in quark behavior, offering insights into the spin structure of nucleons.

Spin, a quantum property akin to angular momentum, has puzzled physicists for decades. Quarks account for only about 30% of a nucleon’s total spin, leaving the rest unexplained—a mystery known as the “spin crisis.” Understanding GPD E could provide crucial clues about where the remaining spin originates, whether from gluon interactions or other phenomena.

With this breakthrough, researchers now have the tools to compare the inner workings of neutrons and protons, promising exciting advances in quantum mechanics and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping the universe.

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