The nucleons in nuclei form temporally correlated pairs in close proximity, called short range correlation (SRC), which plays a crucial role in understanding nuclear structure and the fundamental properties of dense nuclear matter. The consequence of SRC on heavy-ion collisions (HICs) has remained unexplored until now. In this paper, we identify neutron-proton bremsstrahlung $\gamma$-ray emission from HICs as a new indicator of SRC in nuclei. By observing the hardening of the bremsstrahlung $\gamma$-ray spectrum, which results from the increase of high-momentum components above the Fermi surface in nucleon momentum distributions, we precisely determine the SRC fraction in nuclei to be $(21\pm7)\%$ at $3\sigma$ confidence levels. Our experiment identifies the first direct and accurate signature of SRC in low-energy HICs, providing a new method to study the parton momentum distribution of nucleons in nuclei.

CUPID is a next-generation bolometric experiment to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) of $^{100}$Mo using Li$_2$MoO$_4$ scintillating crystals. It will operate 1596 crystals at $\sim$10 mK in the CUORE cryostat at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. Each crystal will be facing two Ge-based bolometric light detectors for $\alpha$ rejection. We compute the discovery and the exclusion sensitivity of CUPID to $0\nu\beta\beta$ in a Frequentist and a Bayesian framework. This computation is done numerically based on pseudo-experiments. For the CUPID baseline scenario, with a background and an energy resolution of $1.0 \times 10^{-4}$ counts/keV/kg/yr and 5 keV FWHM at the Q-value, respectively, this results in a Bayesian exclusion sensitivity (90% c.i.) of $\hat{T}_{1/2} > 1.6^{+0.6}_{-0.5} \times 10^{27} \ \mathrm{yr}$, corresponding to the effective Majorana neutrino mass of $\hat{m}_{\beta\beta} < \ 9.6$ -- $16.3 \ \mathrm{meV}$. The Frequentist discovery sensitivity (3$\sigma$) is $\hat{T}_{1/2}= 1.0 \times 10^{27} \ \mathrm{yr}$, corresponding to $\hat{m}_{\beta\beta}= \ 12.2$ -- $20.6 \ \mathrm{meV}$.

The main observables of the rare two-proton emission process - half-life, total energy of the decay as well as energy and angular correlations between the emitted protons - have been measured for 48Ni and 45Fe in a recent experiment performed at the GANIL/LISE3 facility. The results, together with previous experimental work, are compared for the first time with calculations performed in the recently developed Gamow Coupled-Channel (GCC) framework and to 3-body predictions from literature. The comparison of the 48Ni and the 45Fe two-proton angular distributions with the GCC calculations confirms the adopted strength of the proton-proton interaction for both nuclei and the predominant small-angle emission. A comparison with 3-body model angular distributions indicates the shell closure of the f_7/2 orbital for 48Ni and a substantial occupancy of the p-orbital for 45Fe. Discrepancies between experimental data and theoretical predictions are found when studying the other observables: half-lives, total energy of the decay and energy correlations, showing the complexity of the description of the two-proton emission process.

An analytical formula with high accuracy is proposed for a systematic description of the capture cross sections from light to superheavy reaction systems. Based on the empirical barrier distribution (EBD) method, three key input quantities are refined by introducing the Coulomb exchange term to the Coulomb parameter $z$ for calculating the barrier height, incorporating the $Q$-value into the barrier distribution width calculations, and considering the surface effects of light nuclei and the deep inelastic scattering effects of superheavy systems on the barrier radius. These refinements substantially improve the model accuracy, not only the accuracy of the barrier height but also the accruacy of the capture cross sections at energies around the Coulomb barrier. The mean value of the deviations (in logarithmic scale) between the predicted cross sections and the data for a total of 426 reaction systems with $ 35 < Z_1 Z_2 < 2600$ is sharply reduced from 3.485 to 0.166.

Based on collisions between the 100 PW laser and 8 GeV superconducting linear accelerator constructing at the Shanghai hard X-ray free electron laser system (SHINE), the building of GeV-level $\gamma$-ray as well as positron beams are proposed according to particle-in-cell simulations. Key processes are considered involving the nonlinear inverse Compton scattering for $\gamma$-ray generation and the multiphoton Breit-Wheeler process for electron-positron pair production. Regardless of laser polarization, the simulations indicate that $\gamma$-ray beams achieve energy up to 8 GeV, brilliance around 10$^{27}$ photons/(s mm$^{2}$ mrad$^{2}$), and emittance as low as 0.1 mm mrad, while positron beams reach energy up to 7 GeV, brilliance around 4 $\times$ 10$^{24}$ positrons/(s mm$^{2}$ mrad$^{2}$), and emittance as low as 0.1 mm mrad. Various applications could benefit from the possible high-energy $\gamma$-ray and positron beams built at the SHINE facility, including fundamental physics of strong-field quantum electrodynamics theory validation, nuclear physics, radiopharmaceutical preparation, and imaging, etc.

We study the productions of $\Lambda$-hypernuclei $^3_{\Lambda}$H, $^4_{\Lambda}$H and $^4_{\Lambda}$He in the coalescence mechanism in Au-Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=3$ GeV. Considering the abundance and great importance of baryons and light (hyper-)nuclei on the collision dynamics, we include not only nucleon$+\Lambda$ coalescence but also nucleus+nucleon($\Lambda$) coalescence. We present contributions from different coalescence channels for $^3_{\Lambda}$H, $^4_{\Lambda}$H and $^4_{\Lambda}$He in their productions. We predict the production asymmetry between $^4_{\Lambda}$H and $^4_{\Lambda}$He, characterized by yield ratios $^4_{\Lambda}\text{He}/^4_{\Lambda}\text{H}$ and $(^4_{\Lambda}\text{H}-^4_{\Lambda}\text{He})/(^4_{\Lambda}\text{H}+^4_{\Lambda}\text{He})$, which can shed light on the existence constraints of the possible neutron-$\Lambda$ bound states $^2_{\Lambda}n~(n\Lambda)$ and $^3_{\Lambda}n~(nn\Lambda)$.

In future colliders, the frontiers of luminosity and energy are extended to explore the physics of elementary particles at extremely high precision, and to discover new phenomena suggested from current experimental anomalies. In this letter, we present a simple method to estimate the expected statistical uncertainties of scattering cross sections at future colliders using their conceptual design reports. In particular, the expected statistical uncertainties of muon pair production cross section at the Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee) and the Circular Electron-Positron Collider (CEPC) are calculated. The results can be used to set a goal for systematic uncertainty improvement, to determine the standard model parameters accurately, and to identify the viable parameter space of new physics models.

Massive stars are significant sites for the weak s-process (ws-process). $^{22}$Ne and $^{16}$O are, respectively, the main neutron source and poison for the ws-process. In the metal-poor stars, the abundance of $^{22}$Ne is limited by the metallicity, so that the contribution of $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$, n)$^{25}$Mg reaction on the s-process is small. Conversely, the $^{17}$O($\alpha$, n)$^{20}$Ne reaction is more evident in more metal-poor stars due to the most abundant $^{16}$O in all metallicities. In this work, we calculate the evolution of four metal-poor models ($Z=10^{-3}$) for the Zero-Age Main-Sequence (ZAMS) masses of $M ({\rm ZAMS})=$ 15, 20, 25, and 30 M$_{\odot}$ to investigate the effect of reaction rates on the ws-process. We adopt the new $^{17}$O($\alpha$, n)$^{20}$Ne and $^{17}$O($\alpha, \gamma$)$^{21}$Ne reaction rates suggested by Wiescher et al. (2023) and $^{22}$Ne($\alpha$, n)$^{25}$Mg and $^{22}$Ne($\alpha, \gamma$)$^{26}$Mg from Best et al. (2013). The yields of the s-process isotope with updated reaction rates are compared with the results using default reaction rates from JINA REACLIB. We find that the effects of new $^{17}$O+$\alpha$ are much more significant than those of new $^{22}$Ne+$\alpha$ reaction rates in the non-rotation stars.

We extend the dynamical core-corona initialization (DCCI2) model to include the baryon number evolution in the entire system created in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. Introducing the source term for the baryon number, we describe the early-stage equilibration and later-stage hydrodynamic evolution of the baryon number throughout the system from midrapidity to forward rapidity. Through numerical simulations with this extended model, we show that extremely large baryon chemical potentials are realized in forward rapidity regions at the LHC energy and are comparable to those of the BES energies. Moreover, we show that fluctuations of baryon chemical potentials are large and, consequently, negative baryon chemical potential regions appear at midrapidity.

In this work, we propose an effective finite-range Gogny-type interaction that can be directly used in the quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) like model. Two methods for determining the parameters of the effective interaction are discussed. The first method establishes an approach to connect the conventional Gogny interaction in nuclear structure to that in heavy-ion collisions, the second method allows for the description of the symmetry energy varying from the supersoft to stiff, as well as the momentum-dependent symmetry potential, exhibiting behaviors ranging from monotonic to non-monotonic variations. This effective interaction opens up opportunities for a deeper understanding of finite-range interactions and non-monotonic momentum-dependent symmetry potentials in future studies.

The physics of heavy-ion collisions is one of the most exciting and challenging directions of science for the last four decades. On the theoretical side one deals with a non-abelian field theory, while on the experimental side today's largest accelerators are needed to enable these studies. The discovery of a new stage of matter - called the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) - and the study of its properties is one of the major achievements of modern physics. In this contribution we briefly review the history of theoretical descriptions of heavy-ion collisions based on dynamical models, focusing on the personal experiences in this inspiring field.

A heavy-ion storage ring with an energy recovery internal target(ERIT) is suitable for rare production reactions. The most onerous obstacle to the stable operation of this ring is a phenomenon of stochastic charge state conversions(SCSC) of the ions in the beam caused by the collision with the target. This phenomenon causes a rapid increase in the beam emittance. To solve this problem, we have developed a method to match the closed orbits and beta functions of the beams in different charge states at the production target location in the scaling FFA ring. In this paper, we show through 6D beam tracking simulations that the FFA ring with modulated $k$ suppresses the emittance growth even in the presence of SCSC, and it can accumulate the beam over 600 turns effectively.

The accurate determination of electronic stopping cross sections is essential for advancing nuclear science and materials research. In this work, we present an optimized methodology for stopping power measurements using the backscattering technique, with a focus on minimizing both random and systematic uncertainties. By systematically analyzing the sources of uncertainty and refining the experimental geometry, we establish a robust framework for high-precision measurements. Our approach was applied to the stopping power of helium ions in gold thin films, demonstrating excellent agreement with reference models such as SRIM and ICRU-49. The results reveal that carefully chosen measurement angles can effectively balance statistical precision and systematic accuracy, achieving total uncertainties below 3% across a wide energy range. This study provides a refined strategy for stopping power determination, offering valuable improvements for ion beam analysis and benchmarking theoretical models.

Accurate stopping power data for tungsten is crucial for ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques applied to fusion-related materials. In this work, we present new experimental measurements of the stopping power of tungsten for protons and alpha particles, addressing key gaps in fundamental databases. Our results provide a densely spaced dataset, refining the practical uncertainty limits to approximately 1.5\% for protons and 4\% for alpha particles. We critically compare our findings with semi-empirical and theoretical models, evaluating their performance in describing the stopping power of tungsten for light projectiles. By improving the accuracy and reliability of stopping power data, we contribute to the enhancement of the applicability of ion-beam methods for characterizing tungsten in fusion-related research. These findings contribute to the refinement of semi-empirical models and support the ongoing efforts to develop more precise theoretical frameworks for ion-solid interactions in high-Z materials.

Some atomic nuclei exhibit ``pear" shapes arising from octupole deformation ($\beta_3$), though direct experimental evidences for such exotic shapes remains scarce. Low-energy model studies suggest $^{238}$U may have a modest octupole deformation arising from collective vibrational degrees of freedom, in addition to a large prolate shape. We investigated the impact of this modest octupole shape on observables involving triangular flow ($v_3$) in high-energy nuclear collisions. Using a hydrodynamic framework, we show $v_3$ and its correlation with mean transverse momentum, $\langle v_3^2 \delta\pT \rangle$, exhibit strong sensitivity to $\beta_3$. We found that $\langle v_3^2\rangle$ follows a linear increase with $\beta_3^2$, while $\langle v_3^2 \delta\pT \rangle$ is suppressed in the presence of $\beta_3$. Our findings show that the collective-flow-assisted nuclear imaging method in high-energy nuclear collisions, when compared with experimental data, can provide unique constraints on higher-order deformations.