Come closer: Titanium-48's nuclear structure changes when observed at varying distances

Researchers have found that titanium-48 changes from a shell model structure to an alpha-cluster structure depending on the distance from the center of the nucleus. The results upend the conventional understanding of nuclear structure and are expected to provide clues to the Gamow theory on the alpha-decay process that occurs in heavy nuclei, which has not been solved for nearly 100 years.

source https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/07/240719123844.htm