Eugene Wigner and Gregory Breit connected the capture of slow neutrons with resonant excited states of a target atomic nucleus. A capture probability can change rapidly when the projectile energy crosses one of these states. Their treatment relates the peak to the coupling into the intermediate state and its possible decay channels. It therefore explains why a small interval of incident energies can contain pronounced structure, rather than a smooth response determined by the target's size alone.[ref]
Capture of Slow Neutrons by Gregory Breit and Eugene Wigner. 1936 abstract and resonance treatment of slow-neutron absorption
A physicist.[ref]
https://phy.princeton.edu/about/history/faculty-history/princeton-physics-nobel-laureates. Independent professional profile
Portrait of Eugene Wigner
. Nobel Foundation. Public domain in Sweden per Commons PD-Sweden photo tag; separate U.S. status tag not present on inspected File. Source usage terms, via Wikimedia Commons. Source.
Eugene Wigner was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist and mathematician, known for his significant contributions to nuclear physics, quantum mechanics, and group theory. Born on November 17, 1902, in Budapest, he later emigrated to the United States, where he became a prominent figure in the scientific community. Wigner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his work on the theory of the atomic nucleus and the application of group theory to physics.
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