Nuclear binding energies from composite-knot ropelength

Key Points

• To explore the relationship between nuclear binding energies and the geometric properties of composite knots.
• Model atomic nuclei as connect-sums of trefoil knots with alternating chirality.
• Fit the geometric ropelength of the knots to experimental binding energy data of 50 nuclei.
• Perform out-of-sample predictions for specific isotopes not included in the original fit.
• Achieved a fit with R² = 0.9998 and RMS = 6.9 MeV.
• Outperformed the Bethe–Weizsäcker formula, which had an RMS of 8.3 MeV.
• Predicted binding energies for ²⁴⁴Pu and ²⁵²Cf with errors ranging from 0.4 to 8 MeV.