Probing the nucleon with the electron scattering technique is one of the best ways to understand nuclear structure, and understanding this process gives rise to our image of the week.

Patterson function contours in the (x,y)-plane for a Skyrme crystal.

Authors M Karliner, C King and N S Manton from Tel Aviv University and the University of Cambridge have used the Patterson function for calculating the electron scattering intensity off randomly oriented Skyrmions. The above image is actually a periodic approximation which can be used to obtain the Patterson function for a B = 108 Skyrmion. The Patterson function is typically used in crystallography; however the application here as part of an averaging technique can be considered analogous to an x-ray powder diffraction experiment due to the random, uncorrelated nature of the nuclei.

There are a host of excellent graphical representations in this paper, so check it out.

Electron scattering intensities and Patterson functions of Skyrmions
M Karliner et al 2016 J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 43 055104

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Image: M Karliner et al 2016 J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 43 055104 Copyright IOP Publishing

Categories: Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics

Tags: electr, Image of the week, Nuclear Physics, Nuclear structure, Skyrmions