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.
This paper presents an improved formula for the Wigner function and spin polarization of fermions emitted from a decoupling relativistic fluid by introducing a new expansion method that captures geometric dependencies in the spin-shear term and naturally justifies the isothermal condition without prior assumptions.
This paper demonstrates that transverse momentum conservation is the dominant mechanism causing the breakdown of azimuthal correlation factorization in small systems, quantitatively explaining CMS p-Pb data and establishing a sign rule where deviations from unity alternate based on harmonic order, thereby necessitating the subtraction of this kinematic effect to isolate genuine flow fluctuations.
This paper provides a theoretical review of recent progress in understanding the bulk properties of the quark-gluon plasma and the production of light and strange hadrons in heavy-ion collisions, emphasizing the central role of relativistic hydrodynamics and improved constraints on initial states and transport properties.
This paper demonstrates that the accuracy of the Lorentz Integral Transform method for calculating quantum response functions can be significantly improved by utilizing better-conditioned complex Stieltjes and double-pole kernels, which reduce noise-induced scatter by factors of 2–4 compared to the standard Lorentzian kernel.
This paper develops an effective kinetic theory using the Boltzmann-Vlasov equation to demonstrate that time-dependent magnetic fields during the pre-equilibrium stage of heavy-ion collisions suppress the growth of transverse-to-longitudinal pressure anisotropy and induce a non-monotonic early-time response in gluon pressure, though full isotropization is not achieved without including collisions.
This paper introduces a 2026 open-source electronic edition of D. A. Varshalovich's classic "Quantum Theory of Angular Momentum," which retains the original 1988 content while integrating modern enhancements such as Python-based symbolic tools, AI-verified results, and interactive digital features under a CC-BY 4.0 license.
This study utilizes the UrQMD transport model to analyze baryon stopping in low-energy Au+Au collisions, revealing that a significant fraction of mid-rapidity protons originate from initial neutrons via isospin conversion, a process that deviates from chemical equilibrium assumptions below 10 GeV and is coupled with the onset of nuclear transparency.
This paper develops a finite-temperature proton-neutron BCS framework to demonstrate that thermal excitations can induce a nonmonotonic reentrance of proton-neutron pairing in hot, asymmetric nuclei by partially lifting Pauli blocking, a phenomenon that may significantly influence stellar weak-interaction rates in astrophysical environments.
Using the Schwinger proper-time Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model, this study investigates the electromagnetic structure of the meson in symmetric nuclear matter, revealing that its charge, magnetic, and quadrupole form factors are suppressed with increasing density and that its in-medium charge radius is approximately 0.74 fm.
This paper proposes a unified effective field theory framework formulated at renormalization group fixed points that successfully connects hadronic spectroscopy, dense baryonic matter, and compact star physics by naturally reproducing parity-doubling spectra and reconciling gravitational-wave constraints with massive neutron stars through chiral-invariant nucleon masses and walking vector couplings.