摘要: 对称性及其破缺是基本的科学问题。手征对称性在自然界中广泛存在，大至星系旋臂、行星自转，小到矿物晶体、有机分子、基本粒子，都与手征对称性密切相关。原子核层次的手征对称性概念于1997年提出，随后成为核物理研究的热点问题。目前，实验上已经在核素图上的80，100，130和190质量核区发现了30多例可能具有手征对称性的原子核。简要介绍原子核中的手征对称性概念；手性原子核的预言、识别以及实验验证；并通过展示手性原子核结构的多样性（M_χD），回顾了理论和实验研究进展；介绍最新发现的原子核中手性和空间反射对称性的联立自发破缺，对未来手性原子核研究的前景进行了展望。


Symmetry and its breaking are basic scientific problems. Chiral symmetries are common in nature, for example, the macroscopic spiral arms of galaxies and the rotation of planets; the microscopic spirals of the mineral crystalline, the organic molecules and the elementary particles. The concept of chirality in atomic nuclei was first proposed in 1997. Since then many efforts have been made to understand chiral symmetry and its spontaneous breaking in atomic nuclei. Up to now, more than 30 candidates of chiral nuclei have been reported in the 80, 100, 130, and 190 mass regions. The concept of the chirality in atomic nuclei, the prediction, the signal, and the experimental verification of the chiral nuclei are briefly introduced; the recent theoretical and experimental progress are reviewed, in particular the existence of multiple chiral doublets (M_χD), i.e., more than one pair of chiral doublet bands in one single nucleus; the simultaneous spontaneous breaking of chiral and reflection symmetry in the newly observed atomic nuclei is introduced, together with a prospect on the future study on nuclear chiral symmetry.