PaperPanorama

Nuclear Theory·nucl-th

Friday·April 24, 2026

9 papers5 primary·4 cross-listed

  1. 06

    Bayesian Inference of Dense-Matter Equations of State from Small-Radius Compact Stars with Twin-Star Scenarios

    Xieyuan Dong · Hong Shen · Jinniu Hu · Ying Zhang

    We investigate dense-matter equations of state (EOSs) within a Bayesian framework, with particular emphasis on whether recent small-radius compact-star candidates can be accommodated in a twin-star scenario. For the hadronic sector, we adopt a meta-modeling EOS constrained by the NICER mass--radius measurements of PSR J00300451, PSR J04374715, PSR J06143329, and the massive pulsar PSR J07406620. The hadronic inference indicates that PSR J06143329 favors a somewhat softer EOS than the other two \(\sim1.4\,M_\odot\) pulsars, while the \(\sim2\,M_\odot\) constraint prevents the EOS from becoming too soft. We then introduce a strong first-order phase transition through a constant-speed-of-sound quark-matter segment. Using HESS J1731347 and XTE J1814338 to constrain the phase-transition parameters, we find a preferred transition density of \(n_\mathrm{t}\sim2.7\text{--}2.8\,n_0\), a sizable energy-density jump of \(600\text{--}700\) MeV, and a relatively large post-transition sound speed of \(c_s^2/c^2\sim0.85\). Such a phase transition generates a disconnected hybrid branch with radii of about \(6\text{--}7\) km at masses around \(1.2\text{--}1.4\,M_\odot\), and strongly suppresses the dimensionless tidal deformability relative to the purely hadronic branch. This pronounced change in tidal deformability is a characteristic signature of the twin-star mechanism and may provide an important observational tool for identifying phase transitions in neutron-star matter in future multimessenger measurements. These results show that small-radius compact stars can provide direct constraints on both the strength of a first-order phase transition and the stiffness of the post-transition phase in dense matter.

    astro-ph.HEnucl-th1 citation
  2. 07

    Dilepton Production as a Probe of Pion Condensation in Hot and Dense QCD Matter

    Aritra Bandyopadhyay🇵🇱 · Chowdhury Aminul Islam🇮🇳 · Krzysztof Redlich🇵🇱 · Chihiro Sasaki🇵🇱

    We investigate dilepton production from an isospin-asymmetric hot and dense medium in order to explore the role of isospin imbalance in electromagnetic spectral properties. We focus in particular on modifications of the dilepton production rate associated with the onset of pion condensation, which can occur in the presence of a finite isospin chemical potential. We employ the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with isoscalar--vector interaction. We examine the phase structure in the plane and estimate the vector current correlator--resummed dilepton rate for an effective quark chemical potential. We find that the interplay between isospin asymmetry, pion condensation, and vector interactions leads to nontrivial modifications of the dilepton yield. In particular, we observe two key features of the pion condensed phase: an enhancement at lower invariant mass and a prominent plateau-like structure which also help clearly identify the pion condensed phase from a chirally broken/restored phase. These results highlight the potential sensitivity of dilepton observables to pion-condensed phase of QCD matter, with possible implications for future low-energy heavy-ion collision experiments as well as isospin-rich environments such as neutron star matter.

    hep-phnucl-thPRD(2026)·0 citations
  3. 08

    Quark and gluon production in the presence of the time-varying chiral magnetic current

    Kirill Tuchin🇺🇸

    The chiral magnetic effect consists in the induction of the electric current along the direction of the magnetic field. The corresponding transport coefficient , known as the chiral magnetic conductivity, is proportional to the chiral imbalance in the medium. In many systems, such as quark-gluon plasma, is time-dependent. This paper studies the effect of the time variation of on the particle spectra and energy loss produced through the chiral Cherenkov and associated processes in Abelian and non-Abelian systems. The rates of all processes are derived in the ultra-relativistic approximation. The results are applied to the relativistic heavy-ion collisions utilizing a specific model describing the relaxation of the initial -odd domain within the quark-gluon plasma. The corresponding energy loss is computed. The results suggest strong polarization of jets in quark-gluon plasma.

    hep-phnucl-thPRD(2026)·1 citation
  4. 09

    Heavy Quark Transport is Non-Gaussian Beyond Leading Log

    Jean F. Du Plessis🇺🇸 · Bruno Scheihing-Hitschfeld🇺🇸

    We find that heavy quark transport beyond leading logarithm at weak coupling is intrinsically non-Gaussian: the longitudinal momentum transfer distribution has asymmetric exponential tails that are crucial for equilibration dynamics. We show this by computing the leading-order momentum transfer kernel for relativistic heavy quarks in weakly coupled non-Abelian plasmas, matching perturbative momentum transfer on the thermal scale to hard-thermal-loop-resummed soft physics. This is the same structure previously found in strongly coupled holographic plasmas, showing that it is not peculiar to weak or strong coupling, conformality, or supersymmetry. We therefore expect that this is a robust feature that physical quark-gluon plasma should also exhibit.

    hep-phhep-thnucl-th2 citations

Affiliations

first authorsco-authorsvia INSPIRE