nucl-th papers | Gist.Science

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.

Quantum tunneling, global phases and the limits of classical action reconstructions

This paper demonstrates that the proposed method of reconstructing the Schrödinger wave function from a discrete superposition of real classical action branches fails in classically forbidden regions and for global phase phenomena, as these quantum effects fundamentally require non-vanishing quantum potentials, complex-valued actions, or global boundary conditions that local real classical trajectories cannot provide.

Chong Qi, Mário B. Amaro2026-05-13⚛️ nucl-th

Rigorous proof of the Strutinsky energy theorem and foundations of nuclear density functional theory

This paper presents a rigorous theoretical proof of the Strutinsky energy theorem, which clarifies the interpretation of shell-correction decomposition and establishes a foundational framework for constructing nuclear density functionals.

Chong Qi2026-05-13⚛️ nucl-th

Freeze-out model of light nuclei formation in heavy-ion collision transport

This paper proposes a hybrid coarse-graining model that combines dynamical transport and thermal cluster production to predict light nuclei yields, spectra, and elliptic flows in semi-peripheral Au+Au collisions at 1.23 A GeV, effectively bridging nucleon and cluster descriptions at freeze-out while accounting for thermal non-uniformity and collective transport.

Oleh Savchuk, Pawel Danielewicz, William Lynch, Jérôme Margueron2026-05-13⚛️ nucl-th

Multiple shape coexistence near Sn118: First 03+ lifetime measurement

This paper reports the first measurement of the $0^+_3$ state lifetime in $^{118}$ Sn using thermal-neutron capture, where the observed enhanced $E0$ transition strength provides compelling evidence for multiple shape coexistence, a finding corroborated by theoretical calculations predicting three distinct nuclear shapes in the Sn isotopes.

F. Wu, C. R. Ding, C. Andreoiu, V. Karayonchev, Y. Li, C. Michelagnoli, C. M. Petrache, J. -M. Régis, J. M. Yao, M. Beuschlein, G. Colombi, J. M. Daugas, L. Domenichetti, A. Esmaylzadeh, P. E. Garrett (…)2026-05-13⚛️ nucl-ex

Necessary conditions for causality from linearized stability at ultra-high boosts

This paper introduces a novel method that utilizes linear stability analysis in highly boosted frames, exploiting a phenomenon called " $\gamma$ -suppression," to efficiently derive necessary causality conditions for relativistic hydrodynamic systems while remaining within the low-energy regime.

Shuvayu Roy, Sukanya Mitra, Rajeev Singh2026-05-13⚛️ nucl-th

Ultraheavy Ultrahigh-Energy Cosmic Rays

This paper proposes that ultraheavy nuclei could constitute the highest-energy cosmic rays, offering a consistent explanation for the Amaterasu particle, constraints on source energy generation rates, and the spectral tension between Telescope Array and Pierre Auger Observatory data, while predicting distinct shower maximum depths for future experimental verification.

B. Theodore Zhang, Kohta Murase, Nick Ekanger, Mukul Bhattacharya, Shunsaku Horiuchi2026-05-12⚛️ nucl-th

Examination of the lattice QCD-motivated strong attractive $ΩN$ potentials in the $Ω^- n p$ system

Using Faddeev equations in configuration space, this study demonstrates that the large binding energy of the $\Omega^- np$ system arises from the short-range behavior of strong attractive $\Omega N$ potentials, while revealing that the Coulomb interaction has only a marginal perturbative effect on the system's spatial configuration and binding energy.

I. Filikhin, R. Ya. Kezerashvili, B. Vlahovic2026-05-12⚛️ hep-lat

Tracing the Trace Anomaly of Dense Matter inside Neutron Stars

This paper establishes quasi-universal relations linking the trace anomaly profile in neutron stars to their macroscopic properties, utilizing observational data from specific pulsars and multimessenger constraints to estimate the central trace anomaly of a canonical neutron star.

Shiyue Ren, Lap-Ming Lin2026-05-12⚛️ nucl-th

Constrained Gaussian-process bridge prior for neutron-star equation-of-state inference

This paper introduces a novel, model-agnostic method using constrained Gaussian-process bridges to generate stable, causal, and thermodynamically consistent nonparametric priors for neutron-star equation-of-state inference, enabling the flexible integration of diverse theoretical constraints without requiring iterative shooting.

Tyler Gorda, Oleg Komoltsev, Aleksi Kurkela, Eirik Sunde2026-05-12⚛️ nucl-th

Emulation of large-scale qubit registers with a phase-space approach

This paper presents a phase-space approach based on independent mean-field trajectories that enables the efficient simulation of continuous-time evolution for large-scale qubit registers (up to thousands) with quadratic computational cost, offering qualitatively accurate results for single-qubit observables while serving as a benchmark for systems where exact quantum simulations are infeasible.

Christian de Correc, Denis Lacroix, Corentin Bertrand2026-05-12⚛️ nucl-th

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