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

Slowly Rotating Two-Fluid Neutron Stars: Coupled Frame-Dragging, Inertia Splitting, and Universal Relations

This paper establishes a fully relativistic framework for slowly rotating two-fluid neutron stars that reveals intrinsic collective rotational eigenmodes and demonstrates that the preservation or breakdown of rotational-tidal universality depends on dark-sector microphysics rather than simply the presence of an additional gravitationally coupled component.

Ankit Kumar, Hajime Sotani2026-03-16
⚛️ nuclear theory

Probing the chiral and U(1)U(1) axial symmetry restoration via meson susceptibilities in holographic QCD

Using a soft-wall holographic QCD model calibrated to reproduce the physical pion mass and pseudocritical temperature, this study demonstrates that while chiral symmetry restoration is clearly signaled by the degeneracy of chiral partner meson screening masses near TpcT_{\rm pc}, the restoration of U(1)U(1) axial symmetry occurs at a distinctly higher temperature (T∼0.190T \sim 0.190 GeV), highlighting a qualitative limitation of the model in describing the U(1)U(1) axial anomaly compared to Lattice QCD.

Hiwa A. Ahmed, Danning Li, Mamiya Kawaguchi, Mei Huang2026-03-16
⚛️ nuclear theory

Threshold-Aligned Pygmy Dipole Strength in Astrophysical (n,γ)(n,\gamma) and (γ,n)(\gamma,n) Reactions

This study demonstrates that reaction-rate enhancements in r-process nucleosynthesis are primarily driven by the specific alignment of low-lying pygmy dipole strength with the neutron separation threshold, rather than the total low-energy strength, thereby highlighting the critical need for accurate microscopic descriptions of dipole strength near the neutron threshold.

T. Ghosh, A. Kaur, N. Paar2026-03-16
⚛️ nuclear experiments

π\pi, K, and p production in high-multiplicity pp collisions at s=13\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

This paper presents new measurements of π\pi, K, and p production in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV that reveal mass-dependent spectral hardening and enhanced baryon-to-meson ratios similar to heavy-ion collisions, suggesting that particle production scales with charged-particle multiplicity rather than system size or collision energy, while highlighting that current Monte Carlo models fail to consistently describe all observed features.

ALICE Collaboration2026-03-16
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Measurement of correlations between elliptic flow and mean transverse momentum in pp, p-Pb, and Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC

Using the full LHC Run 2 dataset, this ALICE study reports the first measurements of event-by-event correlations between elliptic flow and mean transverse momentum in pp, p-Pb, and Pb-Pb collisions, revealing non-monotonic trends and system-consistent values at low multiplicity that challenge current theoretical models and provide new constraints on the origin of collectivity in small collision systems.

ALICE Collaboration2026-03-16
⚛️ high-energy experiments

Decoding the structure near the π+π−\pi^+\pi^- mass threshold in ψ(3686)→J/ψπ+π−\psi(3686) \rightarrow J/\psi \pi^+\pi^- decays

Using dispersion theory to account for strong pion-pion final-state interactions, this study demonstrates that the substructure near the π+π−\pi^+\pi^- threshold in ψ(3686)→J/ψπ+π−\psi(3686) \rightarrow J/\psi \pi^+\pi^- decays can be reproduced without invoking an extra resonance, attributing the observed dip primarily to a helicity-flip amplitude rather than the virtual exchange of the Zc(3900)Z_c(3900) state.

Yun-Hua Chen, Xiang-Kun Dong, Feng-Kun Guo, Christoph Hanhart, Bastian Kubis2026-03-13
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Hidden Light Scalars in Heavy-Ion Collisions: A Phenomenological Resolution to High-pTp_T Quarkonium Anomalies

This paper proposes that a minimal dark scalar with a mass of approximately 9.40 GeV, which shares high-pTp_T fragmentation scaling with NRQCD color-octet production, can simultaneously explain the anomalous high-pTp_T plateau in Υ(1S)\Upsilon(1S) nuclear modification factors, the vanishing elliptic flow, and the quarkonium polarization puzzle in heavy-ion collisions while evading historical low-pTp_T constraints.

Yi Yang2026-03-13
⚛️ phenomenology

Comprehensive Effective Field Theory Analysis for Baryon Number Violating Processes

This paper presents a comprehensive effective field theory pipeline that connects baryon number-violating new physics to low-energy hadronic observables by systematically matching Standard Model EFT operators up to dimension nine to Low-Energy EFT and chiral perturbation theory, thereby enabling a model-independent analysis that incorporates higher-dimensional operators and a broader class of ultraviolet completions than previously possible.

Chuan-Qiang Song, Jiang-Hao Yu2026-03-13
⚛️ nuclear theory

Gamow-Teller strength of 12,14,16^{12,14,16}C within deformed quasiparticle random-phase approximation

This study employs the deformed quasiparticle random-phase approximation (DQRPA) with Brückner GG-matrix interactions to analyze Gamow-Teller transition strengths in carbon isotopes 12,14,16^{12,14,16}C, revealing that nuclear deformation significantly influences the strength distributions in 12^{12}C and 16^{16}C while a spherical limit successfully reproduces experimental data for 14^{14}C.

Eunja Ha, Myung-Ki Cheoun, H. Sagawa, Gianluca Colò2026-03-13
⚛️ nuclear theory

Energy-momentum tensor form factors and spin density distribution in the nucleon calculated in a quantized Skyrme model with vector mesons

This paper investigates energy-momentum tensor form factors and spatial spin density distributions in the nucleon using a quantized Skyrme model with vector mesons, demonstrating that while global nucleon properties remain invariant, the choice of pseudogauge (canonical versus Belinfante) significantly alters the local interpretation of spin and momentum densities.

Kenji Fukushima, Tomoya Uji2026-03-13