The clustering of nucleons is a fundamental phenomenon with broad implications for nuclear physics and astrophysics. In this work, we employ a microscopic in-medium few-body approach to systematically investigate the formation and dissolution of light clusters (deuteron, ${}^3\mathrm{H}, {}^3\mathrm{He}, \alpha$ particle) embedded in nuclear medium. The medium-modified cluster structures under the Pauli blocking and the picture of Mott transitions in nuclear medium are discussed in detail. We find that the weakly bound deuteron survives to higher densities as compared with the more compact $\alpha$ particle in symmetric nuclear matter, with its rms radius expanding markedly prior to its dissolution. Moreover, the Mott density of the $\alpha$ particle is slightly lower in neutron-rich matter than in symmetric matter. These results may provide useful constraints for the formation of light clusters at nuclear surface and the cluster yields in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions.

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• Nuclear matter
• Nuclear structure & decays
• Cluster models