Neutron Decays to Proton (IMAGE)

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory

Neutron Decays to Proton

Caption

In this illustration, the grid in the background represents the computational lattice that theoretical physicists used to calculate a particle property known as nucleon axial coupling. This property determines how a W boson (white wavy line) interacts with one of the quarks in a neutron (large transparent sphere in foreground), emitting an electron (large arrow) and antineutrino (dotted arrow) in a process called beta decay. This process transforms the neutron into a proton (distant transparent sphere).

Credit

Credit: Evan Berkowitz/ Jülich Research Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

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