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.

⚛️ nuclear theory

Thermal and geometric normal modes of spectral fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions

This contribution employs principal component analysis to decompose event-by-event spectral fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions into distinct thermal and geometric normal modes, establishing a physical analogy to molecular vibrations that explains key experimental observables such as v0(pT)v_0(p_T) and the sign change at low pTp_T in v02(pT)v_{02}(p_T).

Rupam Samanta2026-04-30
🔬 atomic physics

Low energy elastic scattering of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium on helium isotopes

Motivated by applications in neutrino mass experiments and precision spectroscopy, this paper presents calculations of energy-dependent elastic scattering cross sections for hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium on helium isotopes, revealing that tritium scattering is significantly enhanced at low energies due to a near-threshold s-wave resonant bound state before converging to a geometric limit at higher energies.

B. J. P. Jones, A. Negi, A. Semakin2026-04-29
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Preservation of 3^3\mkern-2muHe ion polarization after laser-plasma acceleration

This paper presents the first experimental confirmation that nuclear spin alignment in polarized 3He^3\text{He} ions is preserved after being heated and accelerated to MeV energies by a high-power laser, validating the feasibility of using pre-polarized targets for future fusion and particle beam applications.

Chuan Zheng, Pavel Fedorets, Ralf Engels, Ilhan Engin, Harald Glückler, Chrysovalantis Kannis, Norbert Schnitzler, Helmu (…)2026-04-28
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Jet fragmentation function and groomed substructure of bottom quark jets in proton-proton collisions at 5.02 TeV

This paper presents the first measurement of bottom quark jet substructure and fragmentation functions in 5.02 TeV proton-proton collisions using a novel algorithm to cluster charged b-hadron decay daughters, providing experimental evidence for the dead-cone effect through the observation of suppressed emissions at small radii compared to inclusive jets.

CMS Collaboration2026-04-28
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Pixelated Plastic Scintillator Array Manufacturing using Fast-, Photo-Curable Resin

This paper presents an efficient additive manufacturing method for producing high-resolution, pixelated plastic scintillator arrays using a custom photocurable resin and an automated assembly process, achieving rapid production and effective gamma-neutron discrimination.

Chandler Moore, Juan Manfredi, Michael Febbraro, Daniel Rutstrom, Andrew Decker, Ryan Kemnitz, Thomas Ruland, Paul Hausl (…)2026-04-28