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Nuclear Theory·nucl-th

Thursday·February 12, 2026

8 papers—3 primary·5 cross-listed

All8Primary3Cross-lists5
  1. 01

    An improved linear Boltzmann transport model for hadron and jet suppression in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions

    Yichao Dang🇨🇳 · Wen-Jing Xing🇨🇳 · Shanshan Cao🇨🇳 · Guang-You Qin🇨🇳

    Jets serve as powerful tomographic probes of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. While the expanding landscape of jet observables reveals multi-faceted aspects of jet-medium interactions, a precise and simultaneous description of the nuclear modification factors of hadrons and full jets remains a challenge for theoretical models. In this work, we present two essential improvements to the linear Boltzmann transport (LBT) model to bridge this gap. First, instead of implementing in-medium parton transport after vacuum parton showers complete, we introduce a medium scale at which in-medium parton transport is inserted into the vacuum parton showers, providing a more physical picture of parton-QGP interactions. Second, we incorporate color flow information into the LBT model, enabling string connections between partons whose configurations are correlated with the medium-modified parton showers before hadronization. We demonstrate that both improvements alter the predicted ratio of hadron to jet quenching, leading to a satisfactory unified description of the nuclear modification factors of hadrons and jets with different flavors.

    nucl-thhep-phnucl-exNucl.Sci.Tech.(2026)·5 citations
  2. 02

    Constraining cross sections for unstable Gd and their astrophysical implications

    Shu-Tong Zhang · Zhi-Cai Li · Kai-Jun Luo · Hong-Chen Liu · Yun-Jie Guo · Kai-Xin Zhao · Zi-Ang Lin · Wen Luo

    Neutron capture cross sections of Gadolinium (Gd) isotopes are critical to astrophysics research, nuclear reactor designs, and medical applications. However, the available data on unstable Gd isotopes are scarce and direct measurement is challenging. In this work, we propose an approach to infer the cross sections for unstable Gd isotopes by constraining both the -ray strength functions (SFs) and nuclear level densities (NLDs). Specifically, the key SF parameters are adjusted to match the available experimental data, and the NLD parameters are determined by renormalizing microscopic level densities through a Bayesian optimization method. Our approach is verified by comparing our predictions with the experimental data for the stable Gd isotopes. We then infer the unstable cross sections within the neutron energy range of 0.01--5.0 MeV. The resulting uncertainty is about , which is significantly reduced by a factor of 5.5 compared to a large uncertainty of predicted with different nuclear models in TALYS. We further calculate the astrophysical reaction rates for the isotopes. It is found that the rate is larger by a factor of 2.9 than the JINA REACLIB recommendation. This enhancement increases the neutron capture branching ratio at Gd. Consequently, the resulting Gd abundance is increased by a factor of 2 compared to predictions using the JINA REACLIB rate in -process nucleosynthesis simulations. Our approach is promising for extracting data on a wider range of unstable isotopic chains as well as for essential astrophysical reaction network calculations and nuclear science applications.

    nucl-thFront.Phys.(Beijing)(2026)·0 citations
  3. 03

    Strong potential in a box for applications to femtoscopy

    Gleb Romanenko🇮🇹 · Francesca Bellini🇮🇹

    Understanding the short-range nucleon-nucleon interaction is essential for the interpretation of correlation femtoscopy measurements in high-energy hadronic and nuclear collisions. We present an analytical treatment of the strong interaction in two-nucleon systems by modelling it with a square-well potential and solving the Schroedinger equation in the presence of the Coulomb interaction. The resulting pair wave function is regular at small relative distances and allows for the inclusion of multiple partial waves. We apply this framework to proton-proton femtoscopy and compute theoretical correlation functions for realistic source sizes. We demonstrate that the commonly used Lednicky-Lyuboshits asymptotic approximation overestimates the correlation signal for small sources. Comparisons with numerical calculations using the CATS framework and the Argonne v18 potential show good agreement within current experimental uncertainties. The proposed analytical approach provides a practical and flexible tool for femtoscopic analyses of nucleon and baryon pairs.

    nucl-thhep-phnucl-ex2 citations

Affiliations

first authorsco-authorsvia INSPIRE