⚛️ Category

nucl-th

1396 papers

Nuclear theory sits at the fascinating intersection of particle physics and the forces that hold our universe together. This field explores how protons and neutrons bind inside atomic nuclei, seeking to understand the fundamental interactions that govern matter at its most dense and energetic levels. While the mathematics involved can be incredibly complex, the core questions are deeply human: how does the universe function at its smallest scales, and what happens when we push matter to its limits?

At Gist.Science, we make these cutting-edge discoveries accessible by processing every new preprint published in this category on arXiv. Our team transforms dense academic manuscripts into clear, plain-language summaries alongside detailed technical overviews, ensuring that both experts and curious readers can grasp the latest breakthroughs without getting lost in the jargon. Below are the latest papers in nuclear theory, distilled and ready for you to explore.

⚛️ nuclear theory

Signed Sound-Speed Deformations of BSk24-Anchored Barotropes: Neutron-Star Response

This paper quantifies how localized, thermodynamically consistent deformations of the squared sound speed in a BSk24-anchored neutron-star barotropic model induce mass-dependent, sign-asymmetric changes in stellar structure and tidal deformability, demonstrating that such phenomenological interventions propagate through reconstruction to alter central states and create distinct core or shell features without implying specific microscopic phase transitions.

Ioannis Papathanasiou2026-08-25
⚛️ nuclear theory

Modeling quasielastic lepton-nucleus interactions with ab initio spectral functions from infinite nuclear matter

This paper presents a quasielastic lepton-nucleus scattering model within the local density approximation that utilizes ab initio spectral functions from infinite nuclear matter, interpolated by neural networks and incorporating final-state interactions, demonstrating good agreement with experimental data for various nuclei while assessing theoretical uncertainties.

Alma L. Cavallin, Francesco Marino, Joanna E. Sobczyk2026-08-25
⚛️ nuclear theory

Neutron star masses from electron-capture supernovae under equation-of-state uncertainties

This study demonstrates that electron-capture supernovae naturally produce low-mass neutron stars within a narrow gravitational mass range of approximately 1.24–1.265 M⊙M_\odot with minimal dependence on the equation of state, suggesting that the even lighter observed neutron stars likely require alternative formation channels such as low-mass iron-core collapse or ultra-stripped supernovae.

Vishal Parmar, Domenico Scordino, Ignazio Bombaci2026-08-25
⚛️ high-energy experiments

Imprints of nuclear shell structure in exclusive vector meson production

This paper demonstrates that exclusive vector meson production at small xx serves as a novel probe of nuclear shell structure, as self-consistent nuclear densities derived from the quark-meson coupling model significantly modify coherent diffractive patterns, particularly for intermediate-mass nuclei like calcium isotopes where J/ψJ/\psi production offers a clean signal free from saturation effects.

Arpita Mondal, Arjun Kumar, Debojit Sarkar2026-08-25
⚛️ nuclear theory

Hyperonic compact stars with vector portal dark matter

This paper proposes that repulsive interactions mediated by a dark-sector vector portal can stiffen the equation of state for hyperonic compact stars within the modified quark-meson coupling model, thereby resolving the hyperon puzzle and allowing these stars to reach observed two-solar-mass limits while offering new multimessenger tests for dark matter interactions.

Prafulla K. Panda (Utkal Univ.), Deepak Kumar (IISER Berhmapur), Hiranmaya Mishra (NISER Bhubaneswar), Sudhanwa Patra (I (…)2026-08-24
⚛️ nuclear theory

Neutron star matter with hyperons: Bayesian comparison of nucleonic and SU(6)/SU(3) hyperonic models

This study employs Bayesian inference to demonstrate that while SU(6) hyperonic models produce equations of state too soft to satisfy neutron star observational constraints, the more flexible SU(3) framework yields stiffer, observationally consistent results that remain statistically indistinguishable from purely nucleonic scenarios with current data.

Athira S., Vishal Parmar, Monika Sinha, Ignazio Bombaci2026-08-24
⚛️ lattice

Exponential-in-Nc2N_c^2 cost reduction of product-formula-based quantum simulations of quantum chromodynamics

This paper demonstrates that by optimizing the exponentiated-Hamiltonian decomposition for product-formula algorithms, the T-gate cost of simulating quantum chromodynamics in the electric basis can be reduced by a factor of nearly 101410^{14}, effectively removing an exponential-in-Nc2N_c^2 overhead previously attributed to the method.

Zohreh Davoudi, Jesse R. Stryker2026-08-24
⚛️ nuclear theory

Bottomonium transport in the sQGP at RHIC and the LHC

This paper employs kinetic rate equations within (3+1)D viscous hydrodynamic simulations to demonstrate that while rapid inelastic suppression and regeneration dominate bottomonium dynamics at LHC energies, the smaller regeneration effect at RHIC, combined with nuclear absorption, explains why Υ(1S)\Upsilon(1S) production magnitudes are comparable at both colliders despite the LHC's higher temperatures.

Biaogang Wu, Jacob Boyd, Ralf Rapp2026-08-24