Nucl-Ex represents the dynamic frontier where scientists probe the fundamental building blocks of matter through high-energy experiments. By smashing particles together at incredible speeds or observing rare cosmic events, researchers uncover the forces that govern our universe and test the limits of our current understanding of physics.

At Gist.Science, we ensure these breakthroughs reach a broader audience by processing every new preprint in this field directly from arXiv. For each study, we provide both a clear, plain-language explanation of the core discoveries and a detailed technical summary for those seeking deeper insights. Below are the latest papers in nuclear experiment research, curated to help you stay informed on the latest developments from the lab.

Constraining the trend of the N=50N = 50 shell gap towards 100^{100}Sn with the masses of 9698^{96-98}Cd

This paper presents precise mass measurements of neutron-deficient 9698^{96-98}Cd isotopes using ISOLTRAP at CERN to determine the N=50N=50 shell gap at Z=48Z=48 and constrain the mass surface near 100^{100}Sn, revealing an enhancement of the shell gap towards the doubly magic nucleus that challenges state-of-the-art theoretical models.

D. Lange, D. Atanasov, M. Au, A. Belley, M. Benhatchi, K. Blaum, R. B. Cakirli, P. F. Giesel, A. Herlert, J. D. Holt, B. S. Hu, A. Jaries, C. Klink, Yu. A. Litvinov, D. Lunney, V. Manea, F. Mehlhorn (…)2026-04-21⚛️ nucl-ex

The nEXO Radioassay Program

This paper presents a comprehensive compilation of material radioactivity constraints generated through various techniques to support the nEXO double-beta decay search, serving as a critical resource for selecting radiopure materials and avoiding duplicated efforts in low-energy rare-event experiments.

R. MacLellan, P. Acharya, B. Aharmim, S. Alcantar Anguiano, A. Anker, I. J. Arnquist, D. Auty, T. Bhatta, D. Chernyak, J. S. Choe, B. Cleveland, J. Daughhetee, A. Der Mesrobian-Kabakian, Y. Y. Ding, M (…)2026-04-20⚛️ nucl-ex

Isospin-symmetry violation -- kaons and beyond (ISO-BREAK 25: summary and outlook)

This paper summarizes the ISO-BREAK 25 workshop held in Kielce in October 2025, which reviewed the current status of isospin-symmetry breaking observed by NA61/SHINE in nucleus-nucleus collisions, discussed its confirmation by other experiments, and outlined future experimental and theoretical priorities to explain this phenomenon.

Marek Gazdzicki (Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland), Francesco Giacosa (Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland), Katarzyna Grebieszkow (Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland), D (…)2026-04-20⚛️ nucl-ex

Systematic study of flow of protons and light clusters in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions with momentum-dependent potentials

This study utilizes the PHQMD approach with a novel momentum-dependent potential to demonstrate that a soft, momentum-dependent nuclear equation of state best reproduces experimental flow data for protons and light clusters in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions, while also revealing distinct flow signatures that can help discriminate between different cluster formation mechanisms.

Viktar Kireyeu, Vadim Voronyuk, Michael Winn, Susanne Gläßel, Jörg Aichelin, Christoph Blume, Elena Bratkovskaya, Gabriele Coci, Jiaxing Zhao2026-04-17⚛️ nucl-ex

BABY 1L: First Tritium Breeding Campaign Results

The BABY 1L experiment successfully benchmarked tritium breeding in a scaled-up molten salt system under DT neutron irradiation, demonstrating a six-fold improvement in breeding ratios over previous tests, validating OpenMC simulations, and identifying diffusion-limited transport and hydrogen-facilitated release as key mechanisms for future fusion power plant designs.

Rémi Delaporte-Mathurin, Nikola Goles, Collin Dunn, Emily Edwards, Sara Ferry, Ross MacDonald, Ethan Peterson, Davide Pettinari, Stefano Segantin, Weiyue Zhou, Kevin B. Woller2026-04-17⚛️ nucl-ex

Measurement of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integrand for proton and deuteron from 200 to 1400 MeV

New high-precision measurements of the helicity-dependent cross sections for protons and deuterons in the 200–1400 MeV photon energy range, obtained at the MAMI facility, have been used to verify the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule for the proton, neutron, and deuteron while providing a critical benchmark for theoretical models of nucleon structure.

P. Pedroni, F. Afzal, S. Abt, P. Achenbach, J. R. M. Annand, H. J. Arends, S. D. Bass, M. Biroth, R. Beck, N. Borisov, A. Braghieri, W. J. Briscoe, F. Cividini, C. Collicott, A. S. Dolzhikov, E. Downi (…)2026-04-17⚛️ nucl-ex

Finite-size behavior of higher-order cumulant ratios near criticality in two-dimensional Potts models

Using Monte Carlo simulations of two-dimensional two-state and three-state Potts models, this study investigates the hierarchy of higher-order cumulant ratios near criticality and finds that, contrary to theoretical predictions for QCD, the specific ordering observed by the STAR experiment does not generically emerge in these finite statistical systems undergoing second-order phase transitions.

Rajiv V. Gavai, Bedangadas Mohanty, Jaydev Singh Rao, Swati Saha2026-04-16⚛️ hep-lat