Background: Nucleon transfer reactions are selective tools for nuclear physics investigations. The theoretical and computational limits affecting in the past their data analysis could be nowadays surmounted thanks to the advent of methods with refined approximations and constraints, even when heavy-ion collisions are considered.

Purpose: Modern microscopic calculations of heavy-ion-induced transfer reactions combined with precise experimental data offer the chance for accurately testing different reaction models as well as the nuclear structure description of the involved nuclear states.

Method: Single proton and neutron transfer reactions were measured with the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer for the ${}^{18}\mathrm{O}+{}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$ system at $15.3A$ MeV. Excitation energy spectra and angular differential cross section distributions were extracted. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations performed in distorted wave and coupled channel Born approximation. The use of a coupled channel equivalent polarization potential to effectively describe the coupling effects affecting the initial state interaction is also considered. Spectroscopic amplitudes derived from a large-scale shell model with appropriate interactions adapted for the involved nuclei are employed.

Results: Our theoretical calculations are in good agreement with experimental data, without the need for any scaling factor, validating the adopted reaction and nuclear structure parameters. Moreover, under the present experimental conditions, a weak dependence of the obtained results on the choice of the reaction models was observed.

Conclusions: The good agreement between experimental and theoretical results validates the reliability of the parameter sets entering the calculations. They are extracted from or tested in complementary analyses of other reaction channels under the same experimental conditions. Such a multichannel approach represents the best option to pursue a solid, comprehensive, and model-independent description of the single-nucleon transfer reactions. The successful description of the present one-nucleon transfer data is also propaedeutic to the accurate assessment, under the same theoretical description, of higher-order transfer processes, like the sequential nucleon transfer mechanisms which are in competition with the direct charge exchange reactions.

The cross sections for the production of three most neutron-deficient zinc isotopes, ${}^{54–56}\mathrm{Zn}$, in the projectile fragmentation of ${}^{78}\mathrm{Kr}$ at 345 MeV/nucleon on a beryllium target, were measured. Although the results are smaller by over an order of magnitude from those obtained with a ${}^{58}\mathrm{Ni}$ beam at 75 MeV/nucleon on a nickel target, the rates of reaction products are found to be larger in the case of high-energy fragmentation of ${}^{78}\mathrm{Kr}$. The experimental cross sections for the most neutron-deficient isotopes of even-$Z$ nuclei between zinc and krypton were analyzed in the framework of the abrasion-ablation model. A very good agreement with the data was found when the nuclear masses predicted by a particular variant of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mass model were used. The prospects for the observation of more exotic isotopes in this region are discussed in context of $2p$ radioactivity.

Fireballs created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at different beam energies have been argued to follow different trajectories in the QCD phase diagram in which the QCD critical point serves as a landmark. Using a $(1+1)$-dimensional model setting with transverse homogeneity, we study the complexities introduced by the fact that the evolution history of each fireball cannot be characterized by a single trajectory but rather covers an entire swath of the phase diagram, with the finally emitted hadron spectra integrating over contributions from many different trajectories. Studying the phase diagram trajectories of fluid cells at different space-time rapidities, we explore how baryon diffusion shuffles them around, and how they are affected by critical dynamics near the QCD critical point. We find a striking insensitivity of baryon diffusion to critical effects. Its origins are analyzed and possible implications discussed.

The projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment to two-neutrino and neutrinoless double $\beta$ decay of ${}^{134}\mathrm{Xe}$ is presented. LZ is a 10-tonne xenon time-projection chamber optimized for the detection of dark matter particles and is expected to start operating in 2021 at Sanford Underground Research Facility, USA. Its large mass of natural xenon provides an exceptional opportunity to search for the double $\beta$ decay of ${}^{134}\mathrm{Xe}$, for which xenon detectors enriched in ${}^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ are less effective. For the two-neutrino decay mode, LZ is predicted to exclude values of the half-life up to $1.7\times {10}^{24}$ years at 90% confidence level (CL) and has a three-sigma observation potential of $8.7\times {10}^{23}$ years, approaching the predictions of nuclear models. For the neutrinoless decay mode LZ, is projected to exclude values of the half-life up to $7.3\times {10}^{24}$ years at 90% CL.

Motivated by the recent measurement of the neutron distribution radius of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ from the PREX-2 data, I study the effects of the new G3(M) parameter set constrained by PREX-2 data on the electron-neutrino scattering in dense matter using the extended relativistic mean-field (E-RMF) model. I employ the G3(M) parameter set to describe the nuclear matter. The obtained equation of state for the G3(M) parameter set has an excellent agreement with experimental data and the chiral effective field theory calculation with ${\mathrm{N}}^3\mathrm{LO}$ 3N forces. I analyze both the differential cross section of the electron-neutrino and electron-neutrino mean free path to observe their sensitivity to the G3(M) parameter set. One finds that the differential cross sections of electron-neutrinos for different baryon densities have higher values compared with those obtained for the TM1e and FSU Garnet parameter sets. The higher cross section decreases the electron-neutrino mean free path.

The well-known spherical-deformed-transitional nucleus and potential $0\nu \beta \beta$emitter ${}^{150}\mathrm{Nd}$and its daughter ${}^{150}\mathrm{Sm}$were investigated in nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments using quasimonoenergetic, linearly polarized $\gamma$-ray beams. For both nuclei transitions from the $1^{+}$ scissors mode to the $0_2^{+}$ and $2_2^{+}$ states were observed for the first time and their respective $M1$ transition strengths were determined. Through a systematic investigation, a sensitivity of these transition strengths to the three Majorana parameters of the interacting boson model-2 (IBM-2) was established. In combination with the novel experimental data, this poses strong constraints to the Majorana parameters in improved IBM-2 representations of both nuclei. A subsequent recalculation of the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) for the ${}^{150}\mathrm{Nd}\to {}^{150}\mathrm{Sm} 0\nu \beta \beta$decay in the IBM-2 with these improved representations results in $M_{\text{IBM-2}}^{\left(0\nu \beta \beta \right)}\left[0_1^{+}\right]=3.35$ for the NME for $0\nu \beta \beta$decay into the ground state of ${}^{150}\mathrm{Sm}$and $M_{\text{IBM-2}}^{\left(0\nu \beta \beta \right)}\left[0_2^{+}\right]=1.30$ for $0\nu \beta \beta$decay to its $0_2^{+}$ state.

Excited states in ${}^{131}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ce}$ were studied using in-beam $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy through the ${}^{122}\mathrm{Sn}({}^{13}\mathrm{C},4n){}^{131}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{125}\mathrm{Te}({}^{12}\mathrm{C},4n){}^{133}\mathrm{Ce}$ reactions, respectively. A strongly coupled band, associated with the $\nu g_{7/2}\left[404\right]{7/2}^{+}$ configuration, was identified in ${}^{131}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ce}$. It is the first time to observe the $\nu g_{7/2}\left[404\right]{7/2}^{+}$ bands in the $N=75$ isotones. The signature partners exhibit considerable energy splitting in comparison with those in the $\pi g_{7/2}\left[404\right]{7/2}^{+}$ bands in the odd-$A$ Ta and Re isotopes. Extensive cranked shell model and quasiparticle-plus-triaxial-rotor model calculations reveal the origin of the signature splitting, which depends not only on the triaxiality, but also on the configuration mixing with nearby low-$j$ orbitals.

Nuclear reaction induced by a weakly bound projectile on light-medium mass targets poses open questions on the fusion mechanism. It is seen that fusion suppression in such reactions is negligible, but that stands on the basis of scarcely available experimental data. Thus more experimental data are demanded to bring out a clear understanding. In the course of this, for the first time, a measurement of residual cross sections from ${}^7\mathrm{Li}$ induced reaction on ${}^{\mathrm{nat}}\mathrm{Cu}$ has been presented in this article within the 2.3–6.0 MeV/nucleon energy range. The residues ${}^{69,67,66}\mathrm{Ge}$, ${}^{68,67,66,65}\mathrm{Ga}$, and ${}^{69m,65,63}\mathrm{Zn}$ produced in the reaction have been identified by $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy. The measured excitation function of the residues has been analyzed using equilibrium and preequilibrium reaction models in the framework of empire-3.2.2 to understand the reaction mechanisms involved in the low energy region. The underlying reaction mechanism is shown to be a blend of equilibrium and preequilibrium processes. The intensity of the $\gamma$ peak 93.31 keV arising in the decay of ${}^{67}\mathrm{Ga}$ has been revised experimentally. The experimental intensity turns out to be about half the value reported in different nuclear databases. Fusion cross sections have been estimated using the experimental data and empire-3.2.2 code. The estimated fusion cross sections are in line with coupled channel calculations taking inelastic excitations into account. The large production cross section of medically important ${}^{67}\mathrm{Ga}$ has been measured.

A new approach to deal with the scattering amplitudes in Glauber theory is proposed. It relies on the use of a generating function, which has been explicitly found. The method is applied to the analytical calculation of the nucleus-nucleus elastic scattering amplitudes in the all interaction orders of the Glauber theory.

We study the chiral condensates in neutron star matter from nuclear to quark matter domain. We describe nuclear matter with a parity doublet model (PDM), quark matter with the Nambu–Jona-Lasino (NJL) model, and a matter at the intermediate density by interpolating nuclear and quark matter equations of state. The model parameters are constrained by nuclear physics and neutron star observations. Various condensates in the interpolated domain are estimated from the chemical potential dependence of the condensates at the boundaries of the interpolation. The use of the PDM with substantial chiral invariant mass ($m_0\gtrsim 500$ MeV, which is favored by the neutron star observations) predicts the mild chiral restoration, and the significant chiral condensate remains to baryon density $n_B\approx 2\text{–}3n_0$ ($n_0\approxeq 0.16{\mathrm{fm}}^{-3}$: nuclear saturation density), smoothly approaching the NJL predictions for the color-flavor-locked phase at $n_B\gtrsim 5n_0$. The same method is applied to estimate diquark condensates, number densities of up-, down- and strange-quarks, and the lepton fraction. In our descriptions the chiral restoration in the interpolated domain proceeds with two conceptually distinct chiral restoration effects; the first is associated with the positive scalar density in a nucleon, relevant in dilute regime, and the other primarily arises from the modification of the quark Dirac sea, which is triggered by the growth of the quark Fermi sea. We discuss several qualitative conjectures to interpolate the microphysics in nuclear and quark matter.

Excited states in the extremely neutron-deficient nucleus ${}^{107}\mathrm{Te}$ have been identified from two separate experiments using the recoil-decay tagging technique. Two connected structures were observed on the basis of $\gamma \gamma$-coincidence relations and tentatively assigned as built on the mixed-parentage $\nu g_{7/2}{d}_{5/2}$ and $\nu h_{11/2}$ intruder configurations. The observed structures were compared with large-scale shell-model calculations and total Routhian surface calculations. Collective behavior was discovered to persist in the $\nu h_{11/2}$ band of ${}^{107}\mathrm{Te}$ which highlights the shape-polarizing effect of a single valence neutron occupying the $h_{11/2}$ intruder orbit as the $N=50$ shell closure is approached.

Theoretical investigation on the concept of double-α (2α) decay is studied in the framework of the modified generalized liquid drop model with different preformation parameters. Comparison of 2α and ${}^8\mathrm{Be}$ emission from various nuclei reveals that 2α emission is more probable than ${}^8\mathrm{Be}$ emission, and ${}^8\mathrm{Be}$ emission does not occur due to its highly unstable nature. Probable 2α emitters are investigated for nuclei in the natural isotopic compositions of elements with atomic numbers varying from 60 to 92 and our predictions on half-lives are in agreement with the values reported by Tretyak [Nucl. Phys. At. Energy. 22, 121 (2021)] using the semiempirical formula for cluster decays. The computed 2α half-life of ${}^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$ using the SemFIS formula is found to be $1.926\times {10}^{15}\mathrm{yr}$ and is compared with the first reported experimental limit $(T_{1/2}>2.9\times {10}^{20}\mathrm{yr})$ estimated from the experimental data of de Marcillac et al. [Nature (London) 422, 876 (2003)]; and this observation demonstrates the possibility of the detection of 2α decay from the ${}^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$ isotope. We have also predicted 2α half-lives for various isotopes ${}^{191\text{–}226}\mathrm{At}$, ${}^{193\text{–}228}\mathrm{Rn}$, ${}^{197\text{–}232}\mathrm{Fr}$, ${}^{201\text{–}235}\mathrm{Ra}$, ${}^{205\text{–}237}\mathrm{Ac}$, Th, ${}^{212\text{–}241}\mathrm{Pa}$, ${}^{215\text{–}243}\mathrm{U}$, and ${}^{219\text{–}245}\mathrm{Np}$, and most of the decay half-lives are below the measurable upper limit thereby promising chances to enhance experimental investigations on 2α decay in the future.

Experimental results of the ${}^1\mathrm{H}({}^{13}\mathrm{B},d){}^{12}\mathrm{B}$ transfer reaction to the low-lying states in ${}^{12}\mathrm{B}$ are reported. The optical potential parameters for the entrance channel are extracted from the elastic scattering ${}^1\mathrm{H}({}^{13}\mathrm{B},p)$ measured in the same experiment, while those for the exit channel are global ones. Spectroscopic factors associated with the $p$-, $s$-, and $d$-wave neutron transfer to the known ${}^{12}\mathrm{B}$ states are extracted by comparing the deuteron angular distributions with the calculation results. The separated $s$- and $d$-wave intruder strengths in ${}^{13}\mathrm{B}_{\mathrm{g}.\mathrm{s}.}$ were determined to be $5\left(2\right)\%$ and $12\left(2\right)\%$, respectively, which follow roughly the systematics for the $N=8$ neutron-rich isotones and shell model calculations with YSOX interaction. The sudden change of the intruder $sd$-wave intensity between ${}^{13}\mathrm{B}$ and ${}^{12}\mathrm{Be}$ needs further theoretical interpretation.

We report studies of charge-independent and charge-dependent two-particle differential number correlation functions, $R_2(\mathrm{\Delta }\eta ,\mathrm{\Delta }\phi )$, and transverse momentum correlation functions, $P_2(\mathrm{\Delta }\eta ,\mathrm{\Delta }\phi )$, of charged particles produced in Pb–Pb collisions at the LHC center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=$ 2.76 TeV with the UrQMD, AMPT, and EPOS models. Model calculations for $R_2$ and $P_2$ correlation functions are presented for inclusive charged hadrons ($h^{\pm }$) in selected transverse momentum ranges and with full azimuthal coverage in the pseudorapidity range $\left|\eta \right|<1.0$. We compare these calculations for the strength, shape, and particularly the width of the correlation functions with recent measurements of these observables by the ALICE collaboration. Our analysis indicates that comparative studies of $R_2$ and $P_2$ correlation functions provide valuable insight towards the understanding of particle production in Pb–Pb collisions. We find, in particular, that these models produce quantitatively different magnitudes and shapes for these correlation functions and none reproduce the results reported by the ALICE collaboration. Accounting for quantum number conservation in models, particularly charge conservation, is mandatory to reproduce the detailed measurements of number and transverse momentum correlation functions.

Following the Bożek-Wyskiel parametrization tilted initial condition, an alternative way to construct a longitudinal tilted fireball based on the Glauber collision geometry is presented. This longitudinal tilted initial condition combined with the Ideal-CLVisc $(3+1)\mathrm{D}$ hydrodynamic model, a nonvanishing directed flow coefficient $v_1$ in a wide range is observed. After comparing the model's results with experimentally observed data of directed flow coefficient $v_1\left(\eta \right)$ from $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200\mathrm{GeV} \text{Cu}+\text{Cu}, \text{Au}+\text{Au}$ collisions at RHIC energy to $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76\mathrm{TeV}$ and $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV} \text{Pb}+\text{Pb}$ collisions at the LHC energy. One finds that directed flow measurements in heavy-ion collisions can set strong constraints on the imbalance of forward and backward incoming nuclei and on the magnitude asymmetry of pressure gradients along the $x$ direction.

Double-beta decays of ${}^{100}\mathrm{Mo}$ from the 6.0195-year exposure of a 6.914 kg high-purity sample were recorded by the NEMO-3 experiment that searched for neutrinoless double-beta decays. These ultrarare transitions to ${}^{100}\mathrm{Ru}$ have a half-life of approximately $7\times {10}^{18}$ years and have been used to conduct the first-ever search for periodic variations of this decay mode. The Lomb-Scargle periodogram technique, and its error-weighted extension, were employed to look for periodic modulations of the half-life. Data show no evidence at the 95% confidence level of modulations with amplitude greater than 2.5% in the frequency range of $0.33225{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ to $360{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$.

We explore the constraints on the three-nucleon force (3NF) of chiral effective field theory $\left(\chi \mathrm{EFT}\right)$ that are provided by bound-state observables in the $A=3$ and $A=4$ sectors. Our statistically rigorous analysis incorporates experimental error, computational method uncertainty, and the uncertainty due to truncation of the $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$ expansion at next-to-next-to-leading order. A consistent solution for the ${}^3\mathrm{H}$ binding energy, the ${}^4\mathrm{He}$ binding energy and radius, and the ${}^3\mathrm{H}\beta$-decay rate can only be obtained if $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$ truncation errors are included in the analysis. The $\beta$-decay rate is the only one of these that yields a nondegenerate constraint on the 3NF low-energy constants, which makes it crucial for the parameter estimation. We use eigenvector continuation for fast and accurate emulation of no-core shell model calculations of the few-nucleon observables. This facilitates sampling of the posterior probability distribution, allowing us to also determine the distributions of the parameters that quantify the truncation error. We find a $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$ expansion parameter of $Q=0.33\pm 0.06$ for these observables.

Incorporating effective nucleon mass from the noncovariant energy-density functional, the Schrödinger-equivalent central and spin-orbit mean-field potentials are determined and used in the microscopic-macroscopic method to calculate the ground-state shell corrections in superheavy nuclei with the charge numbers $Z=112–126$. The island of stability of superheavy nuclei is found to be rather flat and looks like one of coral reef origin due to the interplay between the proton shells at $Z=114$ and 120, and neutron shells at $N=174$ and 184, respectively. The shape coexistence in superheavy nuclei depends on spin-orbit potentials and can affect the spectrum of $\alpha$ decay. The one-quasiparticle spectra, isomeric states, and possible $\alpha$-decay energies are predicted in the nuclei of $\alpha$-decay chains of ${}^{295}119$ and ${}^{295–297,299}120$.

In the present work the cross section of the ${}^{156}\mathrm{Dy}(n,2n){}^{155}\mathrm{Dy}$ reaction ($E_{\mathrm{th}}=9.51$ MeV) was measured at neutron beam energies above 17 MeV: 17.1, 18.1, and 19.0 MeV. The irradiations were performed at the 5.5-MV tandem accelerator of the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics at N.C.S.R. “Demokritos”, where quasi-monoenergetic neutron beams were produced via the ${}^3\mathrm{H}(d,n){}^4\mathrm{He}$ reaction. The cross-section measurements were performed by means of the activation technique relative to the ${}^{27}\mathrm{Al}(n,\alpha ){}^{24}\mathrm{Na}$ reference reaction. Within the present work the experimental study is framed by theoretical calculations performed via the talys code (version 1.95).

We study local spin polarization in the relativistic hydrodynamic model. Generalizing the Wigner functions previously obtained from chiral kinetic theory by Y. Hidaka et al. [Phys. Rev. D 97, 016004 (2018)] to the massive case, we present the possible contributions up to the order of $\hslash$ from thermal vorticity, shear viscous tensor, other terms associated with the temperature and chemical-potential gradients, and electromagnetic fields to the local spin polarization. We then implement the $(3+1)$–dimensional viscous hydrodynamic model to study the spin polarizations from these sources with a small chemical potential and ignorance of electromagnetic fields by adopting an equation of state different from those in other recent studies. Although the shear correction alone upon the local polarization results in a sign and azimuthal-angle dependence more consistent with experimental observations, as also discovered in other recent studies, it is mostly suppressed by the contributions from thermal vorticity and other terms that yield an opposite trend. It is found that the total local spin polarization can be very sensitive to the equation of states, the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density, and the freeze-out temperature.