Nuclear Experiment
Nuclear physics experiments including heavy-ion collisions.
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Nuclear physics experiments including heavy-ion collisions.
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Resonances provide sensitivity to the late-stage dynamics of heavy-ion collisions, as their lifetimes are comparable to the duration of the hadronic phase. This review summarizes state-of-the-art measurements of light-flavour mesonic and baryonic resonances, including $ρ$(770), $K^{\star}$(892), $φ$(1020), $Δ$(1232), $Λ^{\star}$(1520), $Σ^{\star}$(1385) and $Ξ^\star$(1530), in pp, p-A and A-A collisions at SPS, RHIC and the LHC. Systematic trends in yields, mass and width modifications, transverse-momentum spectra, nuclear modification factors, and particle ratios reveal the interplay of re-scattering and regeneration, medium-induced suppression, and the development of collective dynamics with increasing system size and multiplicity. Anisotropic flow results confirm the coupling of resonances to the expanding medium, while recent vector-meson spin-alignment measurements offer fresh insights into hadronization mechanisms and local fields. Ultra-peripheral collisions provide vacuum-like baselines for isolating in-medium effects. Emerging opportunities for charm-resonance studies in upcoming high-luminosity experiments are also outlined.Together, these advances demonstrate the important role of resonance measurements in constraining the space-time evolution of strongly interacting matter.
2511.07648In this document, experimental nuclear structure data are evaluated for 8C. The details of each reaction populating 8C levels are compiled and evaluated. The combined results provide a set of adopted values that include level energies, spins and parities, level widths, decay types and branching ratios, and other nuclear properties. This work supersedes the earlier work by J. E. Purcell in (2018) published in the ENSDF database.
In this document, experimental nuclear structure data are evaluated for 19Ne. 19Ne was first identified by (1939Fo01), see (2012Th01). The details of each reaction and decay experiment populating 19Ne levels are compiled and evaluated. The combined results provide a set of adopted values that include level energies, spins and parities, level half-lives, γ-ray energies, decay types and branching ratios, and other nuclear properties. This work supersedes the earlier work by Ron Tilley (1995Ti07) published in Nuclear Physics A 595 (1995) 1. The earlier evaluations were published by Fay Ajzenberg-Selove in (1959Aj76, 1972Aj02, 1978Aj03, 1983Aj01, and 1987Aj02).
In this document, experimental nuclear structure data are evaluated for 18Ne for ENSDF. 18Ne was first identified by (1954Go17), see (2012Th01). The details of each reaction and decay experiment populating 18Ne levels are compiled and evaluated. The combined results provide a set of adopted values that include level energies, spins and parities, level half-lives, γ-ray energies, decay types and branching ratios, and other nuclear properties. This work supersedes the earlier work by Ron Tilley (1995Ti07) published in Nuclear Physics A 595 (1995) 1. The earlier evaluations were published by Fay Ajzenberg-Selove in (1959Aj76, 1972Aj02, 1978Aj03, 1983Aj01, and 1987Aj02).
The upcoming Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) will address several outstanding puzzles in modern nuclear physics. Key questions, such as the partonic structure of nucleons and nuclei and the origin of their mass and spin, can be explored through high-energy electron-proton and electron-nucleus collisions. To maximize its scientific reach, the EIC community has advocated for the addition of a second interaction region equipped with a detector complementary to the EIC general purpose collider detector, ePIC. The pre-conceptual design of this interaction region aims to provide a different configuration from the first interaction region, which enhances forward acceptance at very small scattering angles ($θ\sim 0$ mrad). This machine configuration would significantly benefit exclusive, tagging, and diffractive physics programs, complementing those of the ePIC experiment. In particular, accessing coherent diffractive processes on light nuclei by tagging of the full, intact nucleus is essential for mapping their spatial parton distributions. In this work, we present a systematic study of the detection capabilities for light nuclei at a second EIC interaction region, with a detailed discussion of the accessible kinematic phase space and its implications for imaging.
We present measurements of cumulants of event-by-event net-proton distribution at mid-rapidity and their ratios up to the sixth order as a function of charged-particle multiplicity in Zr+Zr and Ru+Ru(isobars) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}$) of 200 GeV. The data are collected from the STAR experiment with a total of two billion events recorded for each collision system. The measurements are compared with those obtained from p+p and Au+Au collision systems at the same center-of-mass energy. The higher-order cumulant ratios ($C_4/C_2$, $C_5/C_1$, and $C_6/C_2$) show an overall decreasing trend as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity across systems. The isobar results align with the Au+Au trends within uncertainties. The observations are compared with calculations from Lattice Gauge Theory (LGT) that include a quark-hadron crossover. The systematic behavior of the higher-order cumulant ratios shows that, overall, they progressively approach LGT predictions with increasing multiplicity within uncertainties. This could imply that the medium created in these heavy-ion collisions gradually evolves into thermalized QCD matter undergoing a crossover transition with multiplicity.
The $N(1440)1/2^+$ nucleon resonance, first identified in 1964 by L.D. Roper and collaborators in analyses of $πN$ hadroproduction data have continued to provide pivotal insights that serve to advance our understanding of nucleon excited states. In this contribution, we present results from studies of the structure of the Roper resonance based on exclusive $πN$ and $π^+π^-p$ electroproduction data measured with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. These analyses have revealed the Roper resonance as a complex interplay between an inner core of three dressed quarks and an external meson--baryon cloud. Analyses of the CLAS results on the evolution of the Roper resonance electroexcitation amplitudes with photon virtuality $Q^2$, within the framework of the Continuum Schwinger Method, have conclusively demonstrated the capability to gain insight into the strong interaction dynamics responsible for generating more than 98\% of hadron mass. Further extension of such studies to higher $Q^2$--through experiments currently underway with the CLAS12 detector and in the future with a potential CEBAF energy upgrade to 22 GeV--offers the only foreseeable opportunity to explore the full range of distances where the dominant portion of hadron mass and resonance structure emerges.
We discuss the measurement of the charged-current elastic scattering process $e^-p\rightarrowν_e n$ at the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). This process provides sensitivity to the poorly constrained axial form factor of the nucleon, which encodes the spatial distribution of weak charge. Collisions of electrons with polarized protons enable measuring the axial form factor via the $e^{-\!}\,\vec{p} \to ν_e\,n$ target-spin asymmetry for the first time. We conclude that a measurement of charged-current elastic scattering at the EIC will, perhaps unsurprisingly, prove very challenging. However, with dedicated instrumentation at a second EIC detector, the measurement may be possible.
In the era of precision measurements in high-energy heavy-ion physics, there is an increasing expectation towards phenomenological and theoretical studies to provide a better description of data. In recent years, multiple experiments have confirmed through two-pion Bose-Einstein correlation measurements that the shape of the two-pion pair source can be well described by Levy-stable distributions. However, direct comparisons of new phenomenological results with the data are still needed to understand the underlying phenomena and learn more about the nature of pion emission. In this paper, we present a three-dimensional analysis of the two-pion source in Monte-Carlo simulations of Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon collision energy, and discuss a detailed comparison with the most recent centrality-dependent measurements from the PHENIX Collaboration.
Using an active target detector, the fusion excitation function for $^{20}$O + $^1$H was measured for the first time. Near the barrier, the fusion cross section manifests an oscillatory behavior with broad peaks $\sim$50-100 keV wide. The presence of these peaks likely reflects the low density of low-angular-momentum states in the quasibound regime. R-matrix coupled channel (CC) calculations that include the first excited 2$^+$ state in $^{20}$O are able to reproduce the observed oscillations. However, one channel CC calculations fail to reproduce the decrease in the sub-barrier cross section experimentally observed.
sPHENIX is the first new collider detector experiment dedicated to heavy-ion physics since the LHC began collecting data. Successfully commissioned in 2023-2024, one of its standout features is a streaming-capable tracking system that enables the collection of large, unbiased $p$+$p$ datasets-previously unattainable at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Leveraging this capability, sPHENIX recorded over 100 billion unbiased $p$+$p$ collisions at 200 GeV during Run 24. This unprecedented dataset unlocks a high-precision open heavy flavor physics program with extended low-$p_T$ reach, spanning both charm and beauty sectors. These proceedings present the progress in the analysis of open heavy flavor in the $p$+$p$ dataset. From one hour of data and early-stage calibrations, we see observations of $D^0$ mesons and evidence of $Λ_c^+$ in $p$+$p$ collisions for the first time at RHIC. These resonances will allow for novel physics measurements to be performed for the first time at RHIC.
In these proceedings, the elliptic flow ($v_{2}$) measurement of prompt and non-prompt charm hadrons - originating respectively from the fragmentation of a charm quark and from the decay of hadrons with beauty-quark content - in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}} = 5.36~\text{TeV}$, using the latest data collected during LHC Run 3 by the ALICE detector, is presented. The analysis is performed at midrapidity ($|y| < 0.8$), and hadronic decay channels are used to reconstruct the signal candidates. The $v_{2}$ coefficient is measured via the Scalar Product (SP) technique. The prompt $v_{2}$ in semicentral collisions is reported for the $D^{0}$, $D^{+}$, $D_{s}^{+}$ mesons and, for the first time, for the $Λ_{c}^{+}$ baryon. These results achieve unprecedented precision and low-$p_{\mathrm{T}}$ reach for the D mesons and highlight the first observation of the splitting of baryon and meson elliptic flow at intermediate $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ in the charm sector. The $v_{2}$ is also measured for prompt $D^{0}$, $D^{+}$ and $D_{s}^{+}$ in peripheral collisions, offering new insights into the features of the fireball generated in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Lower $v_{2}$ values are observed for non-prompt $D^{0}$ and $Λ_{c}^{+}$ hadrons in semicentral collisions, as expected from the larger beauty-quark mass.
The study of exclusive photoproduction of multi-hadron final states in ultra-peripheral collisions (UPCs) provides a unique avenue to explore quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the nature of resonances emerging from gluonic interactions. The ALICE Collaboration has recently performed measurements of exclusive four-pion photoproduction using Run 2 data, favoring the presence of two resonances. However, the underlying nature of these resonances remains poorly understood. The enhanced capabilities of the ALICE detector during Run 3 open new opportunities for the study of multi-pion final states, including four and six-pion systems, and processes involving charmonium decays into four-hadron final states. These studies provide an invaluable way to probe the dynamics of highly dense gluonic matter and the interplay between resonant and non-resonant contributions in hadronic systems. In this paper, we outline the ALICE program focused on these analyses.
The sPHENIX experiment is a next-generation collider detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) designed for rare jet and heavy-flavor probes of Au + Au, $p$ + Au, and polarized $p+p$ collisions. The experiment includes a large acceptance, granular electromagnetic calorimeter and very high-rate data acquisition plus trigger system. In RHIC Run-24, sPHENIX sampled 107 $\mathrm{pb}^{-1}$ of collision data with transversely polarized protons at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV using an efficient high-$p_T$ photon trigger. This dissertation describes the extraction of transverse single-spin asymmetries in inclusive production of $π^0$ and $η$ mesons decaying into two photons. Such observables are sensitive to multi-parton correlations in the proton, which are related to transverse-momentum dependent (TMD) effects. The new sPHENIX data set allows for significant extension of the kinematic range covered by previous RHIC mid-rapidity measurements. The results are corrected for background contributions and three different sources of systematic uncertainties are considered: the calculation method, the method of background subtraction, and contributions from possible false asymmetries due to instrumental effects. The results are presented and compared to existing measurements from the PHENIX experiment.
Gamma ($γ$) decay shapes the synthesis of heavy elements in neutron-rich nuclear environments of neutron star mergers, supplying the Universe with heavy elements. The low-energy pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) influences nuclear reaction rates of the rapid nucleosynthesis through enhanced $γ$ transitions. However, since it is difficult to reproduce astrophysical conditions in laboratories, PDR was previously observed only in $J = 1$ spin states. Here we report the first experimental observation of $J > 1$ components of PDR, identified in the $β$-delayed $γ$ decay of the J$^π$ = 3$^{-}$ spin-parity isomer of $^{80}$Ga. The data analysis, combined with decay information and theoretical calculations allows the identification of resonant structures below the neutron emission threshold of the neutron-rich germanium $^{80}$Ge as J$^π = (2,3)^-$ components of the PDR built on the low-lying J$^π$ = 2$^+$ quadrupole state. Our findings extend the concept of PDR beyond dipole states, with implications for nuclear structure theory and experiment, as well as the element production in the cosmos.
The GlueX experiment at Jefferson Lab has observed $p\bar{p}$ and, for the first time, $Λ\barΛ$ and $p\barΛ$ photoproduction from a proton target at photon energies up to 11.6 GeV. The angular distributions are forward peaked for all produced pairs, consistent with Regge-like $t$-channel exchange. Asymmetric wide-angle anti-baryon distributions show the presence of additional processes. In a phenomenological model, we find consistency with a double $t$-channel exchange process where anti-baryons are created only at the middle vertex. The model matches all observed distributions with a small number of free parameters. In the hyperon channels, we observe a clear distinction between photoproduction of the $Λ\barΛ$ and $p\barΛ$ systems but general similarity to the $p\bar{p}$ system. We report both total cross sections and cross sections differential with respect to momentum transfer and the invariant masses of the created particle pairs. No narrow resonant structures were found in these reaction channels. The suppression of $s\bar{s}$ quark pairs relative to $d\bar{d}$ quark pairs is similar to what has been seen in other reactions.
2510.26766For the first time, correlations among mixed-order moments of two or three flow harmonics $-$($v_{n}^{k},v_{m}^{l}$) and ($v_{n}^{k},v_{m}^{l}, v_{p}^{q}$), with $k$, $l$, and $q$ denoting the respective orders$-$are measured in xenon-xenon (XeXe) collisions and compared with lead-lead (PbPb) results, providing a novel probe of collective behavior in heavy ion collisions. These measurements compare a nearly spherical, doubly-magic ${}^{208}$Pb nucleus to a triaxially deformed ${}^{129}$Xe nucleus, emphasizing the sensitivity to dynamic nuclear deformation. The dependence of these results ($v_{n}$, $n$ = 2, 3, 4) on the shape and size of the nuclear overlap region is studied. Comparisons between $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$, and $v_{4}$ demonstrate the importance of $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ in exploring the nonlinear hydrodynamic response of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) to the initial spatial anisotropy. The results constrain initial-state model parameters that influence the evolution of the QGP. The CMS detector was used to collect XeXe and PbPb data at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.44 and 5.36 TeV, respectively. Correlations are extracted using multiparticle mixed-harmonic cumulants (up to eight-particle cumulants) with charged particles in the pseudorapidity range $\lvertη\rvert$ $\lt$ 2.4 and transverse momentum range 0.5 $\lt$ $p_\mathrm{T}$ $\lt$ 3 GeV/$c$.
The isospin symmetry, originating from similar masses of $u$ and $d$ quarks, if exact would result in equal numbers of charged ($K^+$ and $K^{-}$) and neutral ($K^0$ and $\overline{K}^0$) mesons produced in collisions of isospin-symmetric atomic nuclei. The charged and neutral $K$ meson production in Ar+Sc collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 11.9 GeV per nucleon pair was measured by the NA61/SHINE Collaboration. The production of charged $K$ mesons at mid-rapidity is (18.4$\pm$6.1)\% higher than that of the neutral $K$ mesons.The models of hadron production, including known isospin-symmetry breaking effects, cannot explain the measurements.
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) experiment set the most stringent limit on the neutrinoless double-beta ($0νββ$) decay half-life of $^{130}$Te with 2 ton yr TeO$_2$ analyzed exposure. In addition to $0νββ$ decay, the CUORE detector -- a ton-scale array of nearly 1000 cryogenic calorimeters operating at $\sim$10 mK -- is capable of searching for other rare decays and interactions over a broad energy range. For our searches, we leverage the available information of each calorimeter by performing its optimization, data acquisition, and analysis independently. We describe the analysis tools and methods developed for CUORE and their application to build high-quality datasets for numerous physics searches. In particular, we describe in detail our evaluation of the energy-dependent detector response and signal efficiency used in the most recent search for $0νββ$ decay.
Accurate separation of signal from background is one of the main challenges for precision measurements across high-energy and nuclear physics. Conventional supervised learning methods are insufficient here because the required paired signal and background examples are impossible to acquire in real experiments. Here, we introduce an unsupervised unpaired image-to-image translation neural network that learns to separate the signal and background from the input experimental data using cycle-consistency principles. We demonstrate the efficacy of this approach using images composed of simulated calorimeter data from the sPHENIX experiment, where physics signals (jets) are immersed in the extremely dense and fluctuating heavy-ion collision environment. Our method outperforms conventional subtraction algorithms in fidelity and overcomes the limitations of supervised methods. Furthermore, we evaluated the model's robustness in an out-of-distribution test scenario designed to emulate modified jets as in real experimental data. The model, trained on a simpler dataset, maintained its high fidelity on a more realistic, highly modified jet signal. This work represents the first use of unsupervised unpaired generative models for full detector jet background subtraction and offers a path for novel applications in real experimental data, enabling high-precision analyses across a wide range of imaging-based experiments.