951 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 demonstrates that the hypothetical mesonic atom kaonium () manifests as a sharp resonance near 992 MeV in photon-photon collision cross-sections, significantly improving the fit to experimental data for processes like despite its short lifetime and narrow width making direct detection challenging.
This study provides a comprehensive comparison of coupled-cluster formulations based on symmetry-broken reference states and equation-of-motion techniques, demonstrating that both approaches yield consistent descriptions of bulk nuclear properties across calcium and nickel isotopic chains when using chiral effective field theory interactions.
This study incorporates particle number projection into finite-temperature Skyrme density functional calculations to rigorously determine deformation-dependent energies, revealing that while even-odd staggering diminishes near the critical temperature and fission barriers remain similar to unprojected results, the method provides valuable insights into nuclear level densities at both ground states and barriers.
By employing realistic relativistic mean field equations of state with consistent thermal treatments, this study demonstrates that post-merger gravitational-wave peak frequencies span 2.5 to 4 kHz, thereby highlighting the necessity for broadband observatories with kilohertz sensitivity and validating the KAGRA high-frequency design over its broadband counterpart.
This paper employs cluster effective field theory, fitted to recent experimental data from the LUNA and JUNA collaborations, to calculate the factor of the C(,)O reaction at low energies and extrapolate it to the Gamow peak relevant for low-mass AGB stars, identifying the near-breakup threshold state of O as the primary source of uncertainty.
Using the three-fluid dynamics model, this study calculates global polarization in Au+Au collisions at high baryon densities (3–9 GeV), successfully reproducing STAR data at 3 GeV and predicting a broad maximum in polarization around 3–3.9 GeV while analyzing the specific contributions of thermal vorticity, meson fields, thermal shear, and the spin-Hall effect.
Using a three-fluid dynamics model with a crossover equation of state, this paper predicts a non-monotonic evolution of proton directed flow in Au+Au collisions between 4.5 and 7.7 GeV, characterized by a sign change and minimum at 7.2 GeV that signals the onset of the transition to quark-gluon plasma.
Using auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo simulations, this study provides precise thermodynamic benchmarks for the strongly interacting two-dimensional Fermi gas, identifying signatures of a pseudogap regime where pairing correlations persist above the superfluid critical temperature.
The paper introduces "disperon QED," a novel method leveraging dispersion relations, automated tools like OpenLoops, effective field theory, and threshold subtraction to efficiently handle data input for hadronic vacuum polarization insertions in two-loop Monte Carlo calculations, specifically demonstrated through the process in McMule.
The authors defend the conclusions of their original article (arXiv:2412.12282) against criticisms raised in a subsequent comment (arXiv:2502.15817v2) regarding QCD factorization with multihadron fragmentation functions.