Spatial correlation characteristics of the anomalous density matrix $\varkappa$ in a slab of nuclear matter with the Paris and Argonne $v_{18}$ forces are calculated. A detailed comparison with predictions of the effective Gogny force is made. It is found that the two realistic forces lead to very close results that are qualitatively similar to those for the Gogny force. At the same time, the magnitude of $\varkappa$ for realistic forces is essentially smaller than that for the Gogny force. The correlation characteristics are practically independent of the magnitude of $\varkappa$ and turn out to be quite close for the three kinds of forces. In particular, all of them predict a small value of the local correlation length at the surface of the slab and a big one inside. These results are in agreement with those obtained recently by N. Pillet, N. Sandulescu, and P. Schuck [Phys. Rev. C, 76, 024310 (2007)] for finite nuclei with the Gogny force.

The elastic breakup of a three-body projectile on a target is studied within the eikonal approximation with full account of final-state interactions. Bound and scattering states are calculated in hyperspherical coordinates on a Lagrange mesh. A correction is introduced to avoid the divergence of breakup cross sections due to the Coulomb interaction. The eikonal approximation allows the direct calculation of various cross sections, and in particular multidifferential cross sections can be obtained. The model is applied to the breakup of ${}^6\mathrm{He}$ on ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$. The ${}^6\mathrm{He}$ halo nucleus is described within a three-body $\alpha +n+n$ model involving effective $\alpha n$ and $nn$ interactions. The eikonal phase is obtained from optical potentials between $\alpha$ and $n$, and the target. Around 0.8 MeV, the total breakup cross sections exhibit a narrow $2^{+}$ resonant peak superimposed over a broad bump corresponding to a $1^{-}$ resonance. These results suffer from a disagreement with experimental data at 240 MeV/nucleon, where cross sections are much smaller at low energies. The obtained $E1$ strength distribution resembles other theoretical results and reopens a long-standing problem about the existence of a $1^{-}$ low-energy resonance in the ${}^6\mathrm{He}$ continuum.

A setup of the experiment on the production of the isotopes with $Z=108$ in the fusion reaction ${}^{136}\mathrm{Xe}+{}^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ and the obtained results are presented. At the excitation energy $0⩽E_x⩽30$ MeV of the ${}^{272}\mathrm{Hs}*$ compound nucleus the upper limit of the cross section for evaporation residues ${\sigma }_{(1-3)n}⩽4$ pb has been measured. The experimental results together with the data from asymmetric reactions point to a strong limitation of the Hs compound nucleus formation with increasing Coulomb forces in the entrance channel of the reaction.

We study the $J/\psi \to \overline{p}\eta p$ and $J/\psi \to \overline{p}{K}^{+}\Lambda$ reactions with a unitary chiral approach. We find that the unitary chiral approach, which generates the $N^{*}(1535)$ dynamically, can describe the data reasonably well, particularly the ratio of the integrated cross sections. This study provides further support for the unitary chiral description of the $N^{*}(1535)$. We also discuss some subtle differences between the coupling constants determined from the unitary chiral approach and those determined from phenomenological studies.

The lifetimes of the $J^{\pi }=4^{+}$, $6^{+}$, $8^{+}$, and ${10}^{+}$ levels along the ground state band in ${}^{168}\mathrm{Hf}$ were measured by means of the recoil distance Doppler shift (RDDS) method using the New Yale Plunger Device (NYPD) and the SPEEDY detection array at Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory of Yale University. Excited states in ${}^{168}\mathrm{Hf}$ were populated using the ${}^{124}\mathrm{Sn}({}^{48}\mathrm{Ti},4n)$ fusion evaporation reaction. The new lifetime values are sufficiently precise to clearly prove the increase of quadrupole deformation as a function of angular momentum in the deformed nucleus ${}^{168}\mathrm{Hf}$. The data agree with the predictions from the geometrical confined $\beta$-soft (CBS) rotor model that involves centrifugal stretching in a soft potential.

A generalized optical potential for elastic scattering induced by light nuclei is calculated within the Feshbach projection operator method. The model explicitly takes into account the contribution of the projectile breakup continuum treated within a microscopic few-cluster model. In this work, we formulate the model, deriving an explicit expression for the optical potential, and demonstrate the ability of the model by applying it to deuteron elastic scattering.

The yields of evaporation residues, fusion-fission, and quasifission fragments in the ${}^{48}\mathrm{Ca}+{}^{144,154}\mathrm{Sm}$ and ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}+{}^{186}\mathrm{W}$ reactions are analyzed in the framework of the combined theoretical method based on the dinuclear system concept and advanced statistical model. The measured yields of evaporation residues for the ${}^{48}\mathrm{Ca}+{}^{154}\mathrm{Sm}$ reaction can be well reproduced. The measured yields of fission fragments are decomposed into contributions coming from fusion-fission, quasifission, and fast-fission. The decrease in the measured yield of quasifission fragments in ${}^{48}\mathrm{Ca}+{}^{154}\mathrm{Sm}$ at the large collision energies and the lack of quasifission fragments in the ${}^{48}\mathrm{Ca}+{}^{144}\mathrm{Sm}$ reaction are explained by the overlap in mass angle distributions of the quasifission and fusion-fission fragments. The investigation of the optimal conditions for the synthesis of the new element $Z=120$ $(A=302)$ show that the ${}^{54}\mathrm{Cr}+{}^{248}\mathrm{Cm}$ reaction is preferable in comparison with the ${}^{58}\mathrm{Fe}+{}^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$ and ${}^{64}\mathrm{Ni}+{}^{238}\mathrm{U}$ reactions because the excitation function of the evaporation residues of the former reaction is some orders of magnitude larger than that for the last two reactions.

The effect of final state interactions on the elliptic flow coefficient measured in relativistic heavy ion collisions is investigated within the distorted-wave emission-function (DWEF) formalism established by G. A. Miller and J. G. Cramer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 102302 (2005); J. Phys. G. 34, 703 (2007); Phys. Rev. C 78, 054905 (2008)]. It is found that the optical potential previously found to give the best fit of particle multiplicity and Hanbury Brown and Twiss radii in BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider events has a moderate effect on the resulting elliptic flow coefficient $v_2$. This indicates that final state interactions should be taken into account to confidently predict $v_2$ to better than $~20\%$ accuracy.

We study nuclear matter properties based on the chiral sigma model. We formulate the extended relativistic chiral mean-field model by using the tensor optimized shell-model prescription developed for the description of the tensor interaction in finite nuclei. We apply further the unitary correlation operator model prescription to the treatment of the short-range repulsion in the pion channel. The remaining effects are treated phenomenologically in terms of the ω-meson coupling term in the relativistic mean-field approximation. We discuss the equation of state and the chiral properties of nuclear matter.

High-spin states populated in the decay of microsecond isomers in the transitional nuclei ${}^{121}\mathrm{Sb}$ and ${}^{123}\mathrm{Sb}$ have been investigated in detail in several experiments using $\gamma$-ray and electron spectroscopy. The nuclei were formed using multinucleon transfer and fusion-fission reactions with ${}^{136}\mathrm{Xe}$ beams and also using the ${}^{120}\mathrm{Sn}({}^7\mathrm{Li},\alpha 2n){}^{121}\mathrm{Sb}$ and ${}^{122}\mathrm{Sn}({}^7\mathrm{Li},\alpha 2n){}^{123}\mathrm{Sb}$ incomplete-fusion reactions. Isomeric half-lives ranging from several nanoseconds to a few hundred microseconds were determined by means of conventional decay curve analyses, whereas very short-lived isomers ($T_{1/2}~1$ ns) were identified using the generalized centroid-shift method. A number of new transitions were observed, including a branch through spherical states from the $19/2^{+}$ member of the $9/2^{+}$ deformed band in ${}^{121}\mathrm{Sb}$, in competition with the main decay path through the rotational band. This is attributed to mixing between the $19/2^{+}$ band member and a $19/2^{+}$ spherical state. Both levels are predicted to coincide approximately in energy in ${}^{121}\mathrm{Sb}$. The fact that a $25/2^{+}$ isomer occurs for $A=121$ and the lighter isotopes, while a $23/2^{+}$ isomer is observed for $A=123\text{−}131$ is explained through a multistate mixing calculation, taking into account the gradual shift of the $2d_{5/2}$ and $1g_{7/2}$ proton orbitals and the change in proton-neutron effective interactions from an attractive particle-particle type in the lower part of the shell to a repulsive particle-hole type with increasing the neutron number toward the $N=82$ shell closure. The observed enhancement of the $B(E2;19/2^{-}\to 15/2^{-})$ values in ${}^{121}\mathrm{Sb}$ and ${}^{123}\mathrm{Sb}$ over the $B(E2;7^{-}\to 5^{-})$ values in the corresponding Sn cores is discussed in terms of configuration mixing between spherical and deformed states.

Recent neutron elastic scattering differential cross section data for ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$, ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$, and ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ at several energies from 65 to 225 MeV have been analyzed using Glauber multiple scattering model, suitably modified to enlarge angular range of validity. The center of mass and Pauli pair correlations have been considered. The effect of the phase variation of the $\mathit{NN}$ scattering amplitude on the calculated cross sections has been studied. A medium modification of the “elementary” $\mathit{NN}$ interaction is also considered. The neutron differential cross sections have been calculated using the phenomenological and the recently proposed semiphenomenological neutron and proton target densities so as to check the validity of the semiphenomenological density model. We found that our method of analysis gives a very good description of the experimental data.

A systematic study of the microscopic and thermodynamical properties of pure neutron matter at finite temperature within the self-consistent Green's-function approach is performed. The model dependence of these results is analyzed by both comparing the results obtained with two different microscopic interactions, the CD Bonn and the Argonne V18 potentials, and by analyzing the results obtained with other approaches, such as the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approximation, the variational approach, and the virial expansion.

The excitation function for the ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}({}^{52}\mathrm{Cr},n){}^{259}\mathrm{Sg}$ reaction has been measured using the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 88-Inch Cyclotron. The maximum cross section of ${320}_{-100}^{+110}$ pb is observed at a center-of-target laboratory-frame energy of 253.0 MeV. In total, 25 decay chains originating from ${}^{259}\mathrm{Sg}$ were observed and the measured decay properties are in good agreement with previous reports. In addition, a partial excitation function for the ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}({}^{52}\mathrm{Cr},2n){}^{258}\mathrm{Sg}$ reaction was obtained, and an improved ${}^{258}\mathrm{Sg}$ half-life of ${2.6}_{-0.4}^{+0.6}$ ms was calculated by combining all available experimental data.

A realistic estimate of the cusp effect in the $\eta \to 3{\pi }^0$ decay is required for the forthcoming high-precision experiments. The predictions for the size of this effect are given within the framework of nonrelativistic effective field theory.

Elastic scattering of ${}^8\mathrm{B}$, ${}^7\mathrm{Be}$, and ${}^6\mathrm{Li}$ on a ${}^{58}\mathrm{Ni}$ target has been measured at energies near the Coulomb barrier. Optical-model fits were made to the experimental angular distributions, and total reaction cross sections were deduced. A comparison with other systems provides striking evidence for proton-halo effects on ${}^8\mathrm{B}$ reactions. As opposed to the situation for the neutron-halo nucleus ${}^6\mathrm{He}$, for which particle transfer dominates, the “extra” cross section observed for ${}^8\mathrm{B}$ appears to result entirely from projectile breakup.

The transient-field technique has been used to measure the $g$ factor of the $2_1^{+}$ state in ${}^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$ relative to the independently determined $g$ factor of the first $5/2^{-}$ state in ${}^{57}\mathrm{Fe}$. The new result for ${}^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$ agrees with previous measurements but is more precise. Implications for calibrating the transient field and $g$-factor measurements in the $\mathit{fp}$ region are discussed.

The $g$ factors of the $2_1^{+}$ states in ${}^{54}\mathrm{Fe}$ and ${}^{58}\mathrm{Fe}$ have been measured relative to the $2_1^{+}$ state $g$ factor of ${}^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$ using the transient-field technique in inverse kinematics. The results are in satisfactory agreement with recent shell model calculations in the $\mathit{fp}$ model space. For ${}^{56}\mathrm{Fe}$ and ${}^{58}\mathrm{Fe}$ the $g$ factors approach $Z/A$ and are therefore also consistent with collective interpretations of these $2^{+}$ states.

An experiment aimed at the synthesis of isotopes of element 120 has been performed using the ${}^{244}\mathrm{Pu}({}^{58}\mathrm{Fe},\mathit{xn}){}^{302-x}120$ reaction. No decay chains consistent with fusion-evaporation reaction products were observed during an irradiation with a beam dose of $7.1\times {10}^{18}\hspace{0.5em}330\text{−}\mathrm{MeV}\hspace{0.5em}{}^{58}\mathrm{Fe}$ projectiles. The sensitivity of the experiment corresponds to a cross section of 0.4 pb for the detection of one decay.

We perform a systematic comparison of three different jet energy-loss approaches. These include the Armesto-Salgado-Wiedemann scheme based on the approach of Baier-Dokshitzer-Mueller-Peigne-Schiff and Zakharov (BDMPS-Z/ASW), the higher twist (HT) approach and a scheme based on the Arnold-Moore-Yaffe (AMY) approach. In this comparison, an identical medium evolution will be utilized for all three approaches: this entails not only the use of the same realistic three-dimensional relativistic fluid dynamics (RFD) simulation, but also the use of identical initial parton-distribution functions and final fragmentation functions. We are, thus, in a unique position to not only isolate fundamental differences between the various approaches but also make rigorous calculations for different experimental measurements using state of the art components. All three approaches are reduced to versions containing only one free tunable parameter, this is then related to the well-known transport parameter $\widehat{q}$. We find that the parameters of all three calculations can be adjusted to provide a good description of inclusive data on $R_{\mathit{AA}}$ vs transverse momentum. However, we do observe slight differences in their predictions for the centrality and azimuthal angular dependence of $R_{\mathit{AA}}$ vs $p_T$. We also note that the values of the transport coefficient $\widehat{q}$ in the three approaches to describe the data differ significantly.

QCD sum rules for $D$ and $B$ mesons embedded in cold nuclear matter are evaluated. We quantify the mass splitting of $D-\overline{D}$ and $B-\overline{B}$ mesons as a function of the nuclear matter density; extrapolated to saturation density it is in the order of 60 and 130 MeV, respectively, driven essentially by the condensates $\langle q^{†}q\rangle$, $\langle q^{†}g\sigma \mathcal{G}q\rangle$, and $\langle \overline{q}q\rangle$. The poorly known condensate $\langle q^{†}g\sigma \mathcal{G}q\rangle$ may leave room for an even larger $D-\overline{D}$ mass splitting. The genuine chiral condensate $\langle \overline{q}q\rangle$, amplified by heavy-quark masses, enters the Borel transformed sum rules for the mass splitting beyond linear density dependence. The inclusion of strange quark condensates reveals a numerically smaller and opposite effect for the $D_s-{\overline{D}}_s$ mass splitting.