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Nuclear Theory·nucl-th

Monday·January 12, 2026

4 papers—2 primary·2 cross-listed

All4Primary2Cross-lists2
  1. 01

    [Submitted on 9 Jan 2026]

    Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mass models on a 3D mesh: V. The N2LO extension of the Skyrme EDF

    G. Grams🇧🇪 · W. Ryssens🇧🇪 · A. Sánchez-Fernández🇧🇪 · N. N. Shchechilin🇧🇪 · L. González-Miret Zaragoza🇧🇪 · P. Demol🇧🇪 · N. Chamel🇧🇪 · S. Goriely🇧🇪 · M. Bender🇫🇷

    We present BSkG5, the latest entry in the Brussels-Skyrme-on-a-Grid (BSkG) series and the first large-scale nuclear structure model based on next-to-next-to-leading order (N2LO) Skyrme energy density functional (EDF). By extending the traditional Skyrme EDF ansatz with central terms containing up to four gradients, we are able to combine an excellent global description of nuclear ground state properties with a stiff equation of state for pure neutron matter that is consistent with all astronomical observations of neutron stars. More precisely, the new model matches the accuracy of earlier BSkG models but with two parameters less: we achieve root-mean-square deviations of 0.649 MeV for 2457 atomic masses, 0.0267 fm for 810 charge radii, and 0.43 MeV for 45 primary fission barriers of actinide nuclei. We demonstrate that the complexities of N2LO EDFs are not insurmountable, even for demanding many-body calculations.

    Subjects:
    Nuclear Theory (nucl-th); High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE); Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
    arXiv:
    2601.05968 [pdf]
    PLB(2026)·6 citations
  2. 02

    [Submitted on 9 Jan 2026]

    Constraining Hamiltonians from chiral effective field theory with neutron-star data

    Cassandra L. Armstrong🇺🇸 · Brendan T. Reed🇺🇸 · Tate Plohr🇺🇸 · Henrik Rose🇩🇪 · Soumi De🇺🇸 · Rahul Somasundaram🇺🇸 · Ingo Tews🇺🇸

    Multi-messenger observations of neutron stars (NSs) and their mergers have placed strong constraints on the dense-matter equation of state (EOS). The EOS, in turn, depends on microscopic nuclear interactions that are described by nuclear Hamiltonians. These Hamiltonians are commonly derived within chiral effective field theory (EFT). Ideally, multi-messenger observations of NSs could be used to directly inform our understanding of EFT interactions, but such a direct inference necessitates millions of model evaluations. This is computationally prohibitive because each evaluation requires us to calculate the EOS from a Hamiltonian by solving the quantum many-body problem with methods such as auxiliary-field diffusion Monte Carlo (AFDMC), which provides very accurate and precise solutions but at a significant computational cost. Additionally, we need to solve the stellar structure equations for each EOS which further slows down each model evaluation by a few seconds. In this work, we combine emulators for AFDMC calculations of neutron matter, built using parametric matrix models, and for the stellar structure equations, built using multilayer perceptron neural networks, with the \texttt{PyCBC} data-analysis framework to enable a direct inference of coupling constants in an EFT Hamiltonian using multi-messenger observations of NSs. We find that astrophysical data can provide informative constraints on two-nucleon couplings despite the high densities probed in NS interiors.

    Comments:
    8 pages, 4 figures, contains supplemental material
    Subjects:
    Nuclear Theory (nucl-th); High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
    arXiv:
    2601.05999 [pdf]
    PLB(2026)·6 citations
  3. 03

    [Submitted on 9 Jan 2026] (cross-list from hep-ph)

    Near-threshold heavy quarkonium photoproduction in a light-front spectator model

    Amrita Sain🇨🇳 · Bheemsehan Gurjar🇮🇳 · Chandan Mondal🇨🇳

    The near-threshold photo- and electroproduction of heavy vector quarkonia off the proton provides direct access to its gluonic structure. In particular, the cross section for photoproduction near threshold is governed by the proton's gluon gravitational form factors (GFFs). In this work, we employ the generalized parton distribution framework together with gluon GFFs calculated in a light-front gluon-spectator model inspired by soft-wall AdS/QCD to predict both the differential and total cross sections for near-threshold and photoproductions. Our results for photoproduction show good agreement with recent experimental data from the -007 and GlueX Collaborations at Jefferson Lab, as well as with earlier measurements from SLAC and Cornell.

    Comments:
    11 pages, 6 figures
    Subjects:
    High Energy Physics — Phenomenology (hep-ph); High Energy Physics — Experiment (hep-ex); High Energy Physics — Lattice (hep-lat); High Energy Physics — Theory (hep-th); Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
    arXiv:
    2601.05840 [pdf]
    PRD(2026)·3 citations
  4. 04

    [Submitted on 9 Jan 2026] (cross-list from hep-ph)

    Gravitational Ionization by Schwarzschild Primordial Black Holes

    Alexandra P. Klipfel🇺🇸 · David I. Kaiser🇺🇸

    Primordial black holes (PBHs) are theorized to form from the collapse of overdensities in the very early Universe. PBHs in the asteroid-mass range could serve as all or most of the dark matter today, but are particularly difficult to detect due to their modest rates of Hawking emission and sub-micron Schwarzschild radii. We consider whether the steep gradients of a PBH's gravitational field could generate tidal forces strong enough to disrupt atoms and nuclei. Such phenomena may yield new observables that could uniquely distinguish a PBH from a macroscopic object of the same mass. We first consider the gravitational ionization of ambient neutral hydrogen and evaluate prospects for detecting photon radiation from the recombination of ionized atoms. During the present epoch, this effect would be swamped by Hawking radiation -- which would itself be difficult to detect for PBHs at the upper end of the asteroid-mass window. We then consider the gravitational ionization and heating of neutral hydrogen immediately following recombination at , and identify a broad class of PBH distributions with typical mass within which gravitational interactions would have been the dominant form of energy deposition to the medium. We also identify conditions under which tidal forces from a transiting PBH could overcome the strong nuclear force, either by dissociating deuterons, which would be relevant during big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), or by inducing fission of heavy nuclei. We find that gravitational dissociation of deuterons dominates photodissociation rates due to Hawking radiation for PBHs with masses . We additionally identify the phenomenon of gravitationally induced fission of heavy nuclei via tidal deformation.

    Comments:
    20 pp. 10 figures. References added to match published version in Physical Review D
    Subjects:
    High Energy Physics — Phenomenology (hep-ph); Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO); High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE); Nuclear Theory (nucl-th)
    arXiv:
    2601.05935 [pdf]
    PRD(2026)·5 citations

Affiliations

first authorsco-authorsvia INSPIRE