  The general phenomenon of shell structure in atomic nuclei has been
understood since the pioneering work of Goeppert-Mayer, Haxel, Jensen and
Suess.They realized that the experimental evidence for nuclear magic numbers
could be explained by introducing a strong spin-orbit interaction in the
nuclear shell model potential. However, our detailed knowledge of nuclear
forces and the mechanisms governing the structure of nuclei, in particular far
from stability, is still incomplete. In nuclei with equal neutron and proton
numbers ($N = Z$), the unique nature of the atomic nucleus as an object
composed of two distinct types of fermions can be expressed as enhanced
correlations arising between neutrons and protons occupying orbitals with the
same quantum numbers. Such correlations have been predicted to favor a new type
of nuclear superfluidity; isoscalar neutron-proton pairing, in addition to
normal isovector pairing (see Fig. 1). Despite many experimental efforts these
predictions have not been confirmed. Here, we report on the first observation
of excited states in $N = Z = 46$ nucleus $^{92}$Pd. Gamma rays emitted
following the $^{58}$Ni($^{36}$Ar,2$n$)$^{92}$Pd fusion-evaporation reaction
were identified using a combination of state-of-the-art high-resolution
{\gamma}-ray, charged-particle and neutron detector systems. Our results reveal
evidence for a spin-aligned, isoscalar neutron-proton coupling scheme,
different from the previous prediction. We suggest that this coupling scheme
replaces normal superfluidity (characterized by seniority coupling) in the
ground and low-lying excited states of the heaviest N = Z nuclei. The strong
isoscalar neutron- proton correlations in these $N = Z$ nuclei are predicted to
have a considerable impact on their level structures, and to influence the
dynamics of the stellar rapid proton capture nucleosynthesis process.
