We study neutral- and charged-current (anti)neutrino-induced dissociation of the deuteron at energies from threshold up to 150 MeV by employing potentials, as well as one- and two-body currents, derived in chiral effective field theory ($\chi \mathrm{EFT}$). We provide uncertainty estimates from $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$ truncations of the electroweak current, dependences on the $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$ cutoff, and variations in the pool of fit data used to fix the low-energy constants of $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$. At 100 MeV of incident (anti)neutrino energy, these uncertainties amount to about 2–3% and are smaller than the sensitivity of the cross sections to the single-nucleon axial form factor, which amounts to $5\%$ if one varies the range of the nucleon axial radius within the bands determined by recent lattice quantum chromodynamics evaluations and phenomenological extractions. We conclude that a precise determination of the nucleon axial form factor is required for a high-precision calculation of the neutrino-deuteron cross sections at energies higher than 100 MeV. By matching our low-energy $\chi \mathrm{EFT}$ results to those of pionless effective field theory ($\cancel{\pi }\mathrm{EFT}$), we provide new constraints for the counterterm $L_{1,A}$ that parametrizes the strength of the axial two-body current in $\cancel{\pi }\mathrm{EFT}$. We obtain a value of $4.9_{-1.5}^{+1.9}{\mathrm{fm}}^3$ at renormalization scale set to pion mass, which is compatible with, albeit narrower than, previous experimental determinations, and comparable to a recent lattice quantum chromodynamics calculation.

With the aim to get a general understanding of rotational bands in the deformed rare-earth region or in deformed nuclei in general, the observed normal-deformed rotational structures in ${}^{167}\mathrm{Lu}$ are interpreted within the unpaired and paired cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky formalisms, cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky and cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky-Bogoliubov. Particular attention is devoted to the band crossings. For this nucleus with the Fermi surface high up in the $h_{11/2}$ shell, we conclude that except for the paired AB and BC crossings in configurations with an even and odd number of $i_{13/2}$ neutrons, respectively, the observed band crossings can be understood within the unpaired formalism. Especially, it means that above the AB and BC crossings, the evolution with spin is described as a gradual alignment of the spin vectors of the particles outside closed shells. Consequently, the configurations can be characterized by the number of particles occupying open $j$ shells or groups of $j$ shells. In the present study, we revise the interpretation of some experimental bands and also the nature of the crossings while some previous configuration assignments are confirmed.

The two-particle angular correlation functions, $R_2$, of pions, kaons, and protons in Au $+$ Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=7.7,11.5,14.5,19.6,27,39,62.4$, and 200 GeV were measured by the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. These correlations were measured for both like-sign and unlike-sign charge combinations and versus the centrality. The correlations of pions and kaons show the expected near-side (i.e., at small relative angles) peak resulting from short-range mechanisms. The amplitudes of these short-range correlations decrease with increasing beam energy. However, the proton correlation functions exhibit strong anticorrelations in the near-side region. This behavior is observed for the first time in an $A+A$ collision system. The observed anticorrelation is $p_T$ independent and decreases with increasing beam energy and centrality. The experimental results are also compared to the Monte Carlo models UrQMD, Hijing, and AMPT.

We study proton-gold collisions at RHIC energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV within the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) off-shell transport approach, investigating the influence of the intense electromagnetic fields generated in these small systems. We show the space-time evolution of the magnetic and electric components, emphasizing the huge values of the latter one, in particular the electric field $E_x$ along the impact parameter direction whose magnitude is comparable to the magnetic field $B_y$ perpendicular to the reaction plane. We find a fair agreement of the charged particle pseudorapidity density of the high-multiplicity events with respect to the experimental result of the PHENIX Collaboration. Focusing on the most central collision, we show rapidity distributions and spectra as well as the flow coefficients $v_1$ and $v_2$ and we discuss the impact of the electromagnetic fields on identified particle observables. We compute the directed flow $v_1$ of ${\pi }^{+}$, ${\pi }^{-}$, $K^{+}$, $K^{-}$ for collisions at fixed impact parameter and predict that an electromagnetically induced splitting in the $v_1$ of positively and negatively charged particles is generated in the Au-going side of p+Au reaction mainly driven by the huge $E_x$ component. We find that this effect is stronger for the strange mesons and increases for increasing impact parameter. Furthermore, we highlight the amount of directed flow generated in the deconfined phase, finding that it constitutes the main contribution in the central rapidity region, especially for kaons. Thus, we support the idea that the directed flow is a promising probe for the electromagnetic fields generated in relativistic nuclear collisions and show that in proton-induced reactions the electric component along the impact parameter axis is the primary origin of a charge-odd $v_1$ of pions and kaons.

Background: Nova explosions synthesize elements up to $A\simeq 40$, and discrepancies exist between calculated and observed abundances of Ar and Ca created in the explosion. The ${}^{38}\mathrm{K}(p,\gamma ){}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$ reaction rate has been shown to be influential on these isotopic abundances at the endpoint of nova nucleosynthesis. The energies of the three most important resonances, corresponding to $J^{\pi }=5/2^{+}$ excited states in the ${}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$ nucleus above the proton separation threshold, are uncertain and one has been measured with conflicting values [$E_r=679\left(2\right)$ versus $E_r=701\left(2\right)$ keV] in previous experiments.

Purpose: Reducing the uncertainties on the resonance energies would allow for a better understanding of the reaction rate. To improve these uncertainties, we searched for $\gamma$ rays from the depopulation of the corresponding excited states in ${}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$.

Methods: We report a new measurement of these resonance energies via the observation of previously unobserved $\gamma$-ray transitions. These transitions were observed by studying the ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}{(}^3\mathrm{He},\alpha \gamma ){}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$ reaction with Gammasphere ORRUBA Dual Detectors for Experimental Structure Studies (GODDESS). The updated resonance energies were then used to calculate the ${}^{38}\mathrm{K}(p,\gamma ){}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$ reaction rate and assess its uncertainties.

Results: In total, 23 new transitions were found, including three $\gamma$-ray transitions corresponding to the three $J^{\pi }=5/2^{+}$ states of astrophysical interest at energies of 6156.2(16), 6268.8(22), and 6470.8(19) keV. These correspond to resonance energies in the ${}^{38}\mathrm{K}(p,\gamma ){}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$ reaction of 386(2), 498(2), and 701(2) keV.

Conclusions: Updated ${}^{38}\mathrm{K}(p,\gamma ){}^{39}\mathrm{Ca}$ reaction rate calculations show a reduced upper limit at nova temperatures. However, the lower-than-previously-measured energy of the 498-keV resonance and uncertainty in its resonance strength increases the upper limit of the rate close to previous estimates at 0.4 GK.

Neutron stars are among the densest known objects in the universe and an ideal laboratory for the strange physics of supercondensed matter. While the simultaneous measurements of mass and radius of nonrotating neutron stars may impose constraints on the properties of the dense nuclear matter, the observation and study of maximally rotating ones, close to the mass-shedding limit, may lead to significantly further constraints. Theoretical predictions allow neutron stars to rotate extremely fast (even more than $2000\mathrm{Hz}$). However, until this moment, the fastest observed rotating pulsar has a frequency of $716\mathrm{Hz}$, much lower compared to the theoretical predictions. There are many suggestions for the mechanism which lead to this situation. In any case, the theoretical study of uniformly rotating neutron stars, along with accurate measurements, may offer rich information concerning the high-density part of the equation of state. In addition, neutron stars through their evolution may provide us with a criterion to determine the final fate of a rotating compact star. Sensitivity of bulk neutron stars properties on the equation of state at the mass-shedding limit are the main subject of the present study.

The role of the crust on the tidal deformability of a cold nonaccreted neutron star is studied using the recent unified equation of state BSk24. This equation of state, which is based on the nuclear energy-density-functional theory, provides a thermodynamically consistent description of all stellar regions. Results obtained with this equation of state are compared to those calculated for a putative neutron star made entirely of homogeneous matter. The presence of the crustal layers is thus found to significantly reduce the Love number $k_2$, especially for low-mass stars. However, this reduction mainly arises from the increase in the stellar radius almost independently of the equation of state. This allows for a simple analytic estimate of $k_2$ for realistic neutron stars using the equation of state of homogeneous matter only.

Neutron-capture cross sections in the energy range of 0.01–10 MeV for ${}^{146,148,150,152}\mathrm{Sm}$ nuclei were calculated using the $\gamma$-ray strength and level density functions extracted from the Oslo-type experiments. The uncertainties in the cross-section values were determined using a Monte Carlo method. For the ${}^{148,150,152}\mathrm{Sm}$ isotopes, the calculated cross sections are in a good agreement with the existing experimental data and for the ${}^{146}\mathrm{Sm}$ nucleus, an experimental $(n,\gamma )$ cross section is reported for the first time. The results are compared with the ENDF, EAF, and TENDL evaluations. Maxwellian-averaged cross sections were also calculated using the same input $\gamma \mathrm{SF}$ and LD functions.

We first predict the ground-state properties of Ca isotopes using the Gogny-D1S Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov with and without the angular momentum projection. We find that ${}^{64}\mathrm{Ca}$ is an even-dripline nucleus and ${}^{59}\mathrm{Ca}$ is an odd-dripline nucleus, using $A$ dependence of the one-neutron separation energy $S_1$ and the two-neutron separation energy, $S_2$. As for $S_1$, $S_2$ and the binding energies $E_B$, our results agree with the experimental data in ${}^{40-58}\mathrm{Ca}$. As other ground-state properties of ${}^{40-60,62,64}\mathrm{Ca}$, we predict charge, proton, neutron, matter radii, neutron skin, and deformation. As for charge radii, our results are consistent with the experimental data in ${}^{40-52}\mathrm{Ca}$. For ${}^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$, our results on proton, neutron, matter radii agree with the experimental data. Recently, Tanaka et al. measured interaction cross sections for ${}^{42-51}\mathrm{Ca}$ scattering on a ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ target at an incident energy per nucleon of $E_{\mathrm{lab}}=280$ MeV. Second, we predict reaction cross sections ${\sigma }_R$ for ${}^{40-60,62,64}\mathrm{Ca}$ using a chiral $g$-matrix double-folding model (DFM). To show the reliability of the present DFM for ${\sigma }_R$, we apply the DFM for the data on ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ scattering on ${}^9\mathrm{Be}$, ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$, ${}^{27}\mathrm{Al}$ targets in $30\lesssim E_{\mathrm{lab}}\lesssim 400$ MeV and show that the present DFM is good in $30\lesssim E_{\mathrm{lab}}\lesssim 100$ MeV and $250\lesssim E_{\mathrm{lab}}\lesssim 400$ MeV. For $110\lesssim E_{\mathrm{lab}}\lesssim 240$ MeV, our results have small errors. To improve the present DFM for ${\sigma }_R$, we propose two prescriptions.

In this Rapid Communication, we try to settle down the controversial predictions on the effect of doubly magic nuclei ${}^{132}\mathrm{Sn}$ and ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ on the mass distributions of fission fragments of superheavy nuclei. For this, we have calculated the mass distribution of fission fragments of superheavy nuclei from ${}^{274}\mathrm{Hs}$ to ${}^{306}122$ within the dynamical four-dimensional Langevin approach. We have found that, in “light” superheavies, the influence of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ on the mass distributions is negligibly small. In “heavy” superheavies, $Z=120–122$, the (quasi)symmetric peaks and strongly asymmetric peaks at fragment mass $A_F$ close to $A_F=208$ are of comparable magnitude to $A_F=132–140$.

In our previous work [Phys. Rev. C 96, 035206 (2017)], the high-precision differential cross-section data for $\gamma p\to K^{*+}\mathrm{\Lambda }$ reported by the CLAS Collaboration has been analyzed within an effective Lagrangian approach. It was found that apart from the $t$-channel $K$, $K^{*}$, and $\kappa$ exchanges, the $u$-channel $\mathrm{\Lambda }$, $\mathrm{\Sigma }$, and ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}^{*}$ exchanges, the $s$-channel $N$ exchange, and the interaction current, one needs to introduce at least two nucleon resonances in the $s$ channel in constructing the reaction amplitudes to describe the cross-section data. One of the needed resonances is $N\left(2060\right)5/2^{-}$, and the other one could be one of the $N\left(2000\right)5/2^{+}$, $N\left(2040\right)3/2^{+}$, $N\left(2100\right)1/2^{+}$, $N\left(2120\right)3/2^{-}$, and $N\left(2190\right)7/2^{-}$ resonances. In this paper, we further include in our analysis the data on spin density matrix elements for $K^{*}$ meson reported recently by the CLAS Collaboration, with the purpose being to impose further constraints on extracting the resonance contents and to gain a better understanding of the reaction mechanism. It turns out that with the new data on spin density matrix elements taken into account, only the set with the $N\left(2060\right)5/2^{-}$ and $N\left(2000\right)5/2^{+}$ resonances among those five possible solutions extracted from the analysis of the differential cross-section data can satisfactorily describe the data on both the differential cross sections and the spin density matrix elements. Further analysis shows that this reaction is dominated by the $t$-channel $K$ exchange and $s$-channel $N\left(2060\right)5/2^{-}$ and $N\left(2000\right)5/2^{+}$ exchanges.

Single-particle resonances are crucial for exotic nuclei near and beyond the drip lines. Since the majority of nuclei are deformed, the interplay between deformation and orbital structure near threshold becomes very important and can lead to an improved description of exotic nuclei. In this work, the Green's function (GF) method is applied to solve the coupled-channel Dirac equation with quadrupole-deformed Woods-Saxon potentials. The detailed formalism for the partial-wave expansion of the Green's function is presented. A different approach getting exact values for energies and widths of resonant states by the GF method is proposed. Numerical checks are carried out by comparing with our previous implementation of the spherical GF method and the results from the deformed complex momentum representation, the analytical continuation of the coupling constant, and the scattering phase shift methods, and it is proved that the GF method is very effective and reliable for describing resonance states, no matter whether they are narrow or broad, spherical or deformed. Finally, Nilsson levels for bound and resonant orbitals in the halo candidate nucleus ${}^{37}\mathrm{Mg}$ are calculated from the deformed GF method over a wide range of deformations, and some decisive hints of $p$-wave halo formation are shown in this nucleus; namely, the crossing between the configurations $1/2\left[321\right]$ and $5/2\left[312\right]$ at deformation parameter $\beta >0.5$ may enhance the probability to occupy the $1/2\left[321\right]$ orbital that originates from the $2p_{3/2}$ shell.

Rotational band structures and low-lying single-particle levels in ${}^{117}\mathrm{Sb}$ have been populated using reaction ${}^{115}\mathrm{In}(\alpha$, $2n){}^{117}\mathrm{Sb}$ at a beam energy of 28 MeV and investigated using $\gamma$-ray spectroscopic techniques. The existing level scheme has been extended with the observation of 31 new transitions. The signature partner of the band structure based on the configuration of $\pi g_{7/2}\otimes 2\mathrm{p}\text{−}2\mathrm{h}$ of the ${}^{116}\mathrm{Sn}$ core has been established in ${}^{117}\mathrm{Sb}$ for the first time. Several single-particle nonyrast transitions connecting to various band structures have also been identified. Measurements of the DCO ratios, polarization asymmetry and angular distribution of the observed $\gamma$ rays have been carried out to assign the spin-parities to the levels of all the band structures and the low-lying single-particle states, populated in the present work. The spin-parities are also determined for the states of the two previously unassigned bands. The lower-spin structures have been interpreted on the basis of large-scale shell-model calculations using OXBASH. Particle Rotor Model (PRM) calculations have been carried out to explain the large signature splitting of the observed signature partner bands.

Background: In dynamic systems such as heavy-ion collisions, charge susceptibilities and local charge correlations change with time. These changes are accompanied by nonlocal correlations, which spread diffusively with time and are constrained by local charge conservation. Such correlations have been measured at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) and have been linked to the chemical evolution of the matter and possible phase separation or critical phenomena. The evolution of such correlations has been modeled for two-point correlators superimposed onto hydrodynamics, but not for three- or four-point correlators. These higher-order correlators represent an essential basis for calculating the kurtosis and skewness of charge distributions measured at RHIC.

Purpose: For short-range correlations, such as those between charges on the same particle, and the associated charge-balance correlations a theoretical formalism was lacking for handling higher-order correlations. In particular, one needed to understand how higher-order charge fluctuations was split onto lower numbers of particles. For example, correlations of order three have contributions with charge all on one particle, split onto two particle, or split onto three.

Methods: By assuming local chemical equilibrium of short-range correlations, the sources of the various correlators were found to be uniquely determined. The relevant theoretical foundation is presented here, including a diagrammatic technique to correctly account for all the possible terms to higher-order correlations.

Results: A consistent theoretical treatment is found and its applicability, viability, and tractability are discussed.

Conclusions: The formalism derived here enables realistic and quantitative modeling of the three- and four-point charge correlations necessary for understanding measurements of the kurtosis and skewness of charge distributions at RHIC. These observables have been promoted as signals of phase transitions or measures of chemical evolution.

Background: The chiral magnetic effect (CME) is extensively studied in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC. In the commonly used reaction-plane (RP)-dependent, charge-dependent azimuthal correlator ($\mathrm{\Delta }\gamma$), both the close and back-to-back pairs are included. Many backgrounds contribute to the close pairs (e.g., resonance decays, jet correlations), whereas the back-to-back pairs are relatively free of those backgrounds.

Purpose: In order to reduce those backgrounds, we propose a new observable, which only focuses on the back-to-back pairs, namely, the relative back-to-back opposite-sign over same-sign pair excess ($r_{BB}$) as a function of the pair azimuthal orientation with respect to the RP (${\phi }_{BB}$).

Methods: We use analytical calculations and toy model simulations to demonstrate the sensitivity of $r_{BB}\left({\phi }_{BB}\right)$ to the CME and its insensitivity to backgrounds.

Results: With finite CME, the ${\phi }_{BB}$ distribution of $r_{BB}$ shows a clear characteristic modulation. Its sensitivity to background is significantly reduced compared to the previous $\mathrm{\Delta }\gamma$ observable. The simulation results are consistent with our analytical calculations.

Conclusions: Our studies demonstrate that the $r_{BB}\left({\phi }_{BB}\right)$ observable is sensitive to the CME signal and rather insensitive to the resonance backgrounds.

The charge asymmetry ($A_{\mathrm{ch}}$) dependence of the ${\pi }^{-}$ and ${\pi }^{+}$ elliptic flow difference, $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_2\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$, has been regarded as a sensitive observable for the possible chiral magnetic wave (CMW) in relativistic heavy ion collisions. In this work, we first demonstrate that, due to nonflow backgrounds, the flow measurements by the $Q$-cumulant method using all charged particles as reference introduce a trivial linear term to $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_2\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$. The trivial contribution to the slope of triangle flow difference $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_3\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$ can be negative if the nonflow is dominated by back-to-back pairs. After eliminating the trivial term, we find that the nonflow between like-sign pairs gives rise to an additional positive slope to $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_2\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$ because of the larger multiplicity dilution to ${\pi }^{+}$ (${\pi }^{-}$) at positive (negative) $A_{\mathrm{ch}}$. We further find that the competition between different $\pi$ sources can introduce another nontrivial linear-$A_{\mathrm{ch}}$ term due to their different multiplicity fluctuations and anisotropic flows. We then study the effect of neutral cluster (resonance) decays as a mechanism for local charge conservation on the slope parameter of $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_2\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$. We find that the slope parameter is sensitive to the kinematics of those neutral clusters. Light resonances give positive slopes while heavy resonances give negative slopes. Local charge conservation from continuum cluster mass distribution can give a positive slope parameter comparable to experimental data. Our studies indicate that many non-CMW physics mechanisms can give rise to a $A_{\mathrm{ch}}$-dependent $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_2\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$ and the interpretation of $\mathrm{\Delta }{v}_2\left(A_{\mathrm{ch}}\right)$ in terms of the CMW is delicate.

We study double charge-exchange phonon states in neutron-rich nuclei, in particular the double isobaric analog states and the double Gamow-Teller excitations, induced by the double isospin operator ${\sum }_{i,j=1}^A{t}_{-}\left(i\right)t_{-}\left(j\right)$ and spin-isospin operator ${\sum }_{i,j=1}^A\mathit{\sigma }\left(i\right)t_{-}\left(i\right)\mathit{\sigma }\left(j\right)t_{-}\left(j\right)$, respectively. We employ quartic commutator relations to evaluate the average energies $E_{\mathrm{DIAS}}-2E_{\mathrm{IAS}}$ and $E_{\mathrm{DGTR}}-E_{\mathrm{DIAS}}-2(E_{\mathrm{GTR}}-E_{\mathrm{IAS}})$, and conventional double commutator relations to evaluate the average energies of $E_{\mathrm{GTR}}-E_{\mathrm{IAS}}$ and $E_{\mathrm{IAS}}$. We have found that the corrections from quartic commutators follow the approximate laws: $E_{\mathrm{DIAS}}-2E_{\mathrm{IAS}}\approx \frac{3}{2}{A}^{-1/3}\mathrm{MeV}$ and $E_{\mathrm{DGTR}}-E_{\mathrm{DIAS}}-2(E_{\mathrm{GTR}}-E_{\mathrm{IAS}})\approx 16A^{-1}\mathrm{MeV}$. While the former is dominated by direct Coulomb effects because Coulomb exchange cancels out to some extent with isospin symmetry breaking contributions originated from the nuclear strong force, the latter is sensitive to the difference in strength between the spin and spin-isospin channels of the strong interaction.

The dynamics of one out of thirty-five known rare $p$ nuclei, i.e., the ${}^{120}\mathrm{Te}^{*}$ compound nucleus (CN), are worked out within the dynamical cluster-decay model (DCM) over incident $\alpha$-beam energies $E_{\alpha }\approx 10.3$ to 30 MeV, constituting energies below, around, and above the Coulomb barrier. Experimental data are available for the decay of the ${}^{120}\mathrm{Te}^{*}$ CN formed in the ${}^4\mathrm{He}+{}^{116}\mathrm{Sn}$ reaction, to both ground $\left(g\right)$ and metastable $\left(m\right)$ states where the predominant decay mode is neutron emission $xn$ $(x=1,2)$, essentially a “cold-fusion” reaction. Both kinds of decays are independently addressed here, optimizing the neck-length parameter $\mathrm{\Delta }R$, the model's only parameter, to best fit the data for observed $xn$, $x=1$ or 2, channel cross sections while simultaneously predicting cross sections for other experimentally unobserved channels. The collective clusterization technique of the DCM involves a two step mechanism for analyzing a CN decay: first the preformation of the fragments within the parent CN and then the penetration of the preformed clusters through their respective interaction potential barriers, with probabilities $P_0$ and $P$, respectively. The quadrupole deformations of nuclei $\left({\beta }_{2i}\right)$ with their respective “optimum” orientations ${\theta }_i^{\mathrm{opt}.}$ and coplanarity $(\mathrm{\Phi }=0^{\circ })$, are included for the use of “cold-elongated” configurations. Interestingly, in complete agreement with experimental observations, the results of the theoretical model calculations require incorporation of significant quasifissionlike (qf-like) noncompound nucleus (nCN) effects above $E_{\alpha }\approx 20$ MeV, corresponding to decay of ${}^{120}\mathrm{Te}^{*}$ to the ground state of ${}^{118}\mathrm{Te}$ via $2n$. Decay of ${}^{120}\mathrm{Te}^{*}$ to the metastable state ${}^{119m}\mathrm{Te}$ via $1n$ is a pure CN decay over the entire energy range studied here. The smooth variation of $\mathrm{\Delta }R$ values with CN excitation energy $E_{CN}^{*}$ is also well within the nuclear proximity limit of $\approx 2.5\text{fm}$. The trends of statistical CN formation probability and survival probability, $P_{CN}$ and $P_{\mathrm{surv}}$, respectively, with $E_{CN}^{*}$ match the known systematic of other compound nuclei of mass range $100<A_{CN}⪅200$ and $Z_1{Z}_2<460$ studied so far within the model, which gives further credence to the calculations.

Measurements of cross sections of evaporation residue (ER) and spin distributions of heavy nuclei, produced via compound nuclear fusion-evaporation reactions, provide crucial information about the dynamics of nuclear fission and the survival probability of the system against fission. Such measurements help in probing the evolution of the compound system from equilibrium to the saddle and the underlying role of nuclear dissipation in hindering fission. The purpose of the present measurements is to understand the survival probability of the ${}^{224}\mathrm{Th}^{*}$ compound nucleus against fission and its dependence on angular momentum. Measurements of the ER cross sections and spin distributions have been carried out for the ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}+{}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ and ${}^{18}\mathrm{O}+{}^{206}\mathrm{Pb}$ reactions which form the same ${}^{224}\mathrm{Th}^{*}$ compound nucleus. The two reactions have been carried out at laboratory energies ranging from 87 MeV to 122.6 MeV and 85.7 MeV to 121.4 MeV, respectively. The measurements have been performed at Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi using the Hybrid Recoil mass Analyzer in gas-filled mode, coupled with the $4\pi$ spin spectrometer of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The reduced ER cross sections (${\sigma }_{ER}/\pi {R_B}^2$) for both systems are comparable at low excitation energies while at higher excitation energies the ${}^{18}\mathrm{O}+{}^{206}\mathrm{Pb}$ system shows nearly 50% higher values. However, the ${}^{18}\mathrm{O}+{}^{206}\mathrm{Pb}$ system shows lower mean $\gamma$ ray multiplicity (and hence lower mean angular momentum) at all excitation energies which is a surprising result.

Deep inelastic scattering (DIS) experiments at the planned Electron-Ion Collider will be affected by details of the hadron formation inside the nuclear volume. Besides semi-inclusive particle production experiments, decays of the target nucleus via emission of neutrons provide an additional opportunity to probe this domain. This paper reports on the hybrid dynamical$+$statistical calculations of low-energy neutron production in muon-induced and virtual photon-induced collisions with nuclei. We confirm the conclusion that the E665 data on neutron production in ${\mu }^{-}$ $+$ Pb DIS at 470 GeV indicate a strong suppression of the final-state interaction for hadrons with momenta above $\approx 1$ GeV/c. Ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) can be used to test this suppression. The calculations of the neutron multiplicity distributions and $p_t$ spectra in photon-nucleus collisions at the energies accessible at the LHC and RHIC are presented for several models of hadron formation. We argue that studies of neutron production in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions open a window onto the small-$x$ dynamics and hadron component of the photon wave function.