The atomic nucleus is composed of two different kinds of fermions, protons and neutrons. If the protons and neutrons did not interact, the Pauli exclusion principle would force the majority fermions, usually neutrons, to higher average momentum. In this talk I will present results from high‐energy electron scattering experiments, which show that short‐range interactions between the fermions form correlated, high‐momentum, neutron‐proton pairs. Thus, in neutron‐rich nuclei the probability of finding high‐momentum (k>kFermi) protons (the minority Fermions) is greater than that of neutrons (the majority Fermions). This has wide ranging implications for atomic, nuclear and astro physics, including neutrino‐nucleus scattering, the EMC effect, the NuTeV anomaly, the nuclear symmetry energy and more. This feature is universal for imbalanced two‐component Fermi systems and can also be observed experimentally in imbalanced two‐spin states, ultra‐cold atomic gas systems.
Argonne Physics Division Seminar Schedule