⚛️ Category

nucl-th

1400 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

A common finite-density charge-symmetry-breaking response in mirror displacement energies and charge radii

This study demonstrates that a unified charge-symmetry-breaking functional can simultaneously describe mirror displacement energies and charge-radius differences, revealing a common finite-density response that constrains effective coupling combinations and highlights the necessity of quantifying surface-gradient-sensitive corrections before using mirror charge radii as precise probes of neutron skins.

Myeong-Hwan Mun, Kyoungsu Heo, Jubin Park, Myung-Ki Cheoun, H. Sagawa2026-07-22
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Nonlinear collective flow reveals the breakdown of quadrupole--hexadecapole scaling in heavy ion collisions

This study demonstrates that nonlinear collective flow in ultra-central 238^{238}U+238^{238}U collisions, particularly through the sixth-order harmonic's sensitivity to mode coupling, provides a direct and experimentally accessible signature to isolate the intrinsic hexadecapole deformation (β4\beta_4) and reveal deviations from the quadrupole--hexadecapole scaling in nuclear structure.

Hadi Mehrabpour, Zahra Sheibani, Li Yan, Chunjian Zhang, Abolfazl Mirjalili2026-07-22
⚛️ nuclear theory

Mapping parametric error profiles onto nuclear structure configurations in deformed proton radioactivity

This paper establishes a Bayesian uncertainty quantification framework to calibrate deformed Woods-Saxon potentials for proton radioactivity, demonstrating that propagating parametric uncertainties not only accurately predicts experimental half-lives but also reveals a direct correlation between error profile volatility and nuclear structural softening near shell closures.

Jizheng Bo2026-07-22
⚛️ nuclear experiments

Temperature fluctuations in a realistic Polyakov-loop extended Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model along the freeze-out line

By reparameterizing the Polyakov-loop extended Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model to align with lattice data and the BES-II energy range, this study demonstrates that a distinct dip in the second-order temperature cumulant along the freeze-out line near 7.7 GeV supports the hypothesis that the non-monotonic transverse momentum correlations observed by the STAR Collaboration are linked to the QCD critical endpoint.

He Liu, Peng Wu, Hong-Ming Liu, Peng-Cheng Chu2026-07-22✓ Author reviewed ⓘ
⚛️ nuclear theory

Saturation effects in exclusive vector meson production in DIS

This paper investigates saturation effects in exclusive vector meson production within the Color Glass Condensate framework using a hotspot model, finding that while saturation has mild impacts at current energy and charge-density levels, its suppressive effect on scattering cross sections becomes more prominent as the proton's internal color-charge density increases.

Oscar Garcia-Montero, Yannik Hoffmann, Sören Schlichting2026-07-21
⚛️ nuclear theory

Lorentz-Covariant Spectral Bounds from Thermal Quantum Field Theory

This paper establishes rigorous, model-independent Lorentz-covariant bounds on relaxation spectra and hydrodynamic convergence in thermal quantum field theory, demonstrating that boosted non-hydrodynamic gaps and spectral widths increase with velocity rather than simply undergoing time dilation, a result verified numerically in N=4\mathcal{N}=4 super-Yang-Mills plasma.

Alisher Sanetullaev (New Uzbekistan University), Sarbinaz Bazarbaeva (New Uzbekistan University), Marhabo Beymamatova (N (…)2026-07-21
⚛️ nuclear theory

Wounded parton scaling of multiplicities in ultra-relativistic light- and heavy-ion collisions

This paper demonstrates that a uniform wounded parton Glauber model, assuming four partons per nucleon and incorporating negative binomial fluctuations, successfully describes charged particle multiplicity distributions across O+O, Ne+Ne, Xe+Xe, and Pb+Pb collisions at sNN∼5\sqrt{s_{NN}} \sim 5 TeV using a single set of parameters for centralities up to approximately 1%.

Rupam Samanta, Piotr Bozek, Wojciech Broniowski2026-07-21
⚛️ nuclear theory

Quantifying the Information Gain from Future High-Precision Radius Measurements for Identifying Twin Neutron Stars

This study employs Bayesian inference and information-theoretic measures to demonstrate that future neutron star radius measurements with a precision of approximately 0.2 km are sufficient to extract nearly all available information for identifying twin neutron stars, marking the point of diminishing scientific returns for distinguishing hadron-quark phase transitions.

Bao-An Li, Xavier Grundler2026-07-21