Nolen-Schiffer blockades

Nolen-Schiffer blockades refer to challenges in accurately predicting the energy differences between mirror nuclei—pairs of nuclei that have their protons and neutrons exchanged—due to complex interactions within the nucleus. These discrepancies highlight limitations in nuclear models and are important for understanding nuclear structure and fundamental forces. Essentially, they reveal the difficulty in precisely accounting for all factors influencing nuclear stability and energy levels when comparing similar but proton/neutron-swapped nuclei.