In these proceedings, we present the measurements of charged $K^{+} - K^{+}$ and neutral $K_{s}^{0} - K_{s}^{0}$ correlation functions from Au+Au fixed-target collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 3.0, 3.2, 3.5, 3.9 and 4.5 GeV at STAR. This is the first such systematic measurement of correlation functions involving strangeness in the high baryon density region. The source size values do not exhibit a clear energy dependence, and the transverse mass dependence of source size for kaons does not align with the trend observed for pions. Parameters extracted from UrQMD transport model calculations qualitatively capture the measured values.

Precision measurements of four neutrino oscillation parameters, $\theta_{12}$, $\theta_{13}$, $\Delta m^2_{21}$, and |$\Delta m^2_{31}$|, face significant interference from a previously overlooked correlated background. Recent findings from the SNO+ and JUNO experiments reveal that cascade decays of $^{214}$Bi-$^{214}$Po in liquid scintillator detectors can mimic inverse beta decay signals from reactor and geoneutrinos, with a misidentification probability on the order of $10^{-4}$ when hydrogen neutron capture is used, a rate ten times higher than Geant4 simulations predicted. This work identifies the $^5$Li resonance in $\alpha$-$p$ elastic scattering as the underlying cause. For alpha energies above 5~MeV, the cross section is hundreds of times larger than that of Rutherford scattering. After correctly incorporating the differential cross section into Geant4, the misidentification probability is recalculated as 1.9$\times$10$^{-4}$. The simulated shape of the long tail in the alpha deposited energy also differs from the extrapolation models currently used by SNO+ and JUNO. These results will assist both experiments in more accurately estimating this novel background, thereby refining measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters and the geoneutrino flux. Additionally, the study implies an overlooked background with a rate of 0.5 events per detector per day in the Daya Bay $\theta_{13}$ analysis using hydrogen neutron capture, leading to an increase of $\sin^22\theta_{13}$ by approximately 0.012. Consequently, the Particle Data Group's reported $\sin^2\theta_{13}$ value shall increase by about 0.006~(1$\sigma$).

The present work reports new total photoabsorption cross sections for the $N=Z$ nuclei in the $sd$-shell $^{20}$Ne, $^{24}$Mg, $^{28}$Si, $^{32}$S, $^{36}$Ar, and for $^{26}$Mg. The results are compared to predictions of a data-driven artificial neural network application and to configuration-interaction shell-model calculations covering the excitation energy region of the isovector giant dipole resonance. Double-differential cross sections of the $(p,p^\prime)$ reaction at 295 MeV have been measured between $0^\circ$ and $14^\circ$. The angular distributions of the $E1$ parts due to Coulomb excitation have been extracted with a multipole decomposition analysis for excitation energies 12 to 24 MeV and converted to equivalent photoabsorption cross sections with the virtual photon method. Reasonable agreement of the photoabsorption cross sections with previous experiments is found for $^{24}$Mg and $^{28}$Si, while the present results diverge for $^{32}$S. For the first time, data are presented for $^{20}$Ne, $^{26}$Mg and $^{36}$Ar. Configuration-interaction shell-model calculations provide an overall satisfactory description of the fragmented $E1$ strength distributions. The same holds for absolute cross sections except for $^{26}$Mg and $^{36}$Ar, where the experimental results significantly exceed the expected exhaustion of the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn energy-weighted sum rule. Fot light nuclei, there is a larger model dependence compared to previous analyses in heavy nuclei, in particular for excitation energies above 20 MeV, due to the need to constrain the continuum background with additional assumptions. The overall success of the shell-model approach to describe the features of the experimental photoabsorption cross sections motivates its application in large-scale reaction network calculations aiming at an understanding of the mass composition of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.

In this paper, we review recent highlights in heavy-ion collisions and proton-proton collisions at top energies from STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) with key contributions from Chinese groups, including the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) bulk properties, electromagnetic probes, heavy flavor and jets, antimatter hyper-nucleus, nuclear structure, global polarization, and nucleon spin structure. These data serve as important ingredients in the physics of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD).

Dissipative processes are pivotal for understanding the hydrodynamic evolution of hot and dense QCD matter created in relativistic nuclear collisions. The interplay of multiple conserved charges -- net baryon, strangeness, and electric charge -- is of particular interest. We simulate the longitudinal hydrodynamic evolution with the three diffusion currents in a hydrodynamic model with a lattice-QCD-based equation of state, NEOS-4D, and estimate rapidity distributions including diffusive corrections to the phase-space distribution in the presence of multiple charges, which ensure charge conservation at particlization. We determine the response of particle yields at midrapidity to changes in the diagonal and off-diagonal conductivities. Inversely, we find that most components of the conductivity matrix can be constrained experimentally using identified particle multiplicities at different collision energies.

Measuring radon emanation from detector materials is a key method for controlling radon, a significant background in rare-event physics experiments. Methods for measuring radon emanation are well-established but have predominantly focused on the 222Rn isotope, the dominant radon isotope for these backgrounds. However, measurements of 220Rn (thoron), the second most abundant radon isotope, remain relatively unexplored. 220Rn emanation measurements are challenging because the 220Rn must be transferred from the emanation chamber to the active detector within its short 55 s half-life. In this study, a direct in-chamber approach for measuring 220Rn emanation is presented in which the sample is placed directly within the active detector chamber, thereby minimising losses during transfer. The method was demonstrated with a DURRIDGE RAD8 electrostatic radon detector, which measured 220Rn emanation from low-activity thoriated rods with an activity of 76 +/- 20 mBq. Compared with a conventional flowthrough 220Rn emanation setup, the in-chamber method increased sensitivity by a factor of 3. Using helium as the carrier gas provided a further sensitivity increase, giving an overall sensitivity gain of ~5. These results indicate that in-chamber 220Rn emanation measurements provide an effective tool for low-background experiments and have the potential to accelerate radon studies by exploiting the shorter half-life of 220Rn.

The ion beam induced charge technique with proton microprobe is used to characterise newly developed p-n junction large area silicon carbide detectors. They were recently produced as part of the ongoing program to develop a new particle identification wall for the focal plane detector of the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer at INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud in view of the NUMEN experimental campaigns. Four silicon carbide devices are studied. Proton beams over a 1.26 to 6.00 MeV incident energy range are used to probe the active area and the depletion depth of each device. The energy loss tables for the silicon carbide material are checked, finding an empirical correction that is then used to quantify the depletion depth at the full depletion voltage through energy loss measurements of 3.40 MeV proton beams irradiating the back side of the devices. It is possible to fully deplete the devices provided that the epitaxial layer is grown properly on the substrate.

The trace anomaly of dense matter, $\Delta \equiv 1/3 - P/\varepsilon$, defined in terms of the ratio of pressure $P$ to energy density $\varepsilon$, quantifies deviations from conformal symmetry and plays a central role in both the hydrodynamic response and gravitational equilibrium. While $\Delta(\varepsilon)$ has recently been inferred from neutron star observations, we report the first Bayesian extraction of the trace anomaly from collective flow observables in intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions. By employing transport-model simulations that explicitly decouple the cold-matter mean-field potential from thermal effects, we directly constrain the cold dense-matter equation of state (EOS). Remarkably, the trace anomaly inferred from laboratory flow data agrees quantitatively, within $68\%$ credible intervals, with independent astrophysical posterior bands. This nontrivial agreement demonstrates that heavy-ion collisions and neutron star observations probe the same universal macroscopic properties of dense matter, establishing the trace anomaly as a composition-insensitive descriptor of dense matter across widely different physical environments.

This work investigates one- and two-neutron transfer in the $^{96}\text{Zr} + {}^{40}\text{Ca}$ reaction at sub-barrier energies using a microscopic framework based on time-dependent covariant density functional theory (TD-CDFT). Pairing correlations are incorporated via the time-dependent BCS approximation, which is shown to significantly enhance pair transfer, as evidenced by an increased two-neutron transfer probability. The oblate deformation of $^{96}$Zr causes the transfer probabilities to vary by orders of magnitude with orientation; a direct comparison with experiment is enabled by averaging results over thirteen systematically chosen orientations. While the orientation-averaged one-neutron transfer probabilities agree well with data, the two-neutron channel is suppressed below the Coulomb barrier. This suppression is attributed to missing quantum fluctuations in the semiclassical TD-CDFT approach. To test this, we employ the generalized time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM), which confirms that quantum fluctuations are essential for an accurate description of sub-barrier two-neutron transfer dynamics.

Sapphire has mechanical and electrical properties that are advantageous for the construction of internal components of radiation detectors such as time projection chambers and bolometers. However, it has proved difficult to assess its $\rm ^{232}Th$ and $\rm ^{238}U$ content down to the picogram per gram level. This work reports an experimental verification of a computational study that demonstrates $\gamma\gamma$ coincidence counting, coupled with neutron activation analysis (NAA), can reach ppt sensitivities. Combining results from $\gamma\gamma$ coincidence counting with those of earlier single-$\gamma$ counting based NAA shows that a sample of Saint Gobain sapphire has $\rm ^{232}Th$ and $\rm ^{238}U$ concentrations of $<0.26$ ppt and $<2.3$ ppt, respectively; the best constraints on the radiopurity of sapphire.

Some nuclear reaction channels may not be easily identified but can contribute toward very important characteristics like nuclear reaction cross-sections, isomeric yields etc. The dineutron as a bound nucleus of two neutrons can play its hidden role and is considered as a product of fast neutron-induced nuclear reactions on lutetium isotopes. When being formed in the output channels, it allows explaining unexpected enhancement of reaction cross-sections discussed in this letter. We used available data and instrumental spectra to deeply consider the role of the dineutron in order to reveal the consequences of its formation and subsequent decay on transformations of nuclear reaction products. As a result, we got the experimental confirmation of 176gLu half-life significant diminishing on the certain time interval and extremely high cross-section for 176gLu burnup, being of 10E+11 b order of value, and observed gamma-transitions due to fusion between 175Lu and the deuteron. This introduces a novel, low-energy reactions and fusion path under neutron irradiation conditions, with implications for basic nuclear physics, HEP and practical applications.

Light $s$-shell hypernuclei ($^{3,4}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$) and their ground-state properties are crucial benchmarks in hypernuclear physics. In particular, comparing the production cross sections of $^{3}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$ and $^{4}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$ provides insights into the $\Lambda N$ interaction in different isospin configurations, which can help address recent discrepancies in the reported $\Lambda$ binding energy of hypertriton. We present the first measurement of the production cross sections for $^{3}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$ and $^{4}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$ using the in-flight $(K^-, \pi^0)$ reaction at a beam momentum of 1.0 GeV/$c$ with an identical experimental setup. The production cross sections in the laboratory frame, for the angular range from 0$^{\circ}$ to 20$^{\circ}$, are measured to be $15.0~\pm~2.6~(\text{stat.})~^{+2.4}_{-2.8}~(\text{syst.})~\mu \text{b} $ and $49.9~\pm~2.1~(\text{stat.})~^{+7.8}_{-8.0}~(\text{syst.})~\mu \text{b}$ for the ground-state of $^{3}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$ and $^{4}_{\Lambda}\text{H}$, respectively. Using the ratio of these cross sections and comparing it with theoretical calculations, we evaluate the $\Lambda$ binding energy of hypertriton, yielding a value consistent with the picture of a loosely bound system.

We analyze the hadronic uncertainty from light-quark loops coupled to (anti)neutrino in low-energy neutral-current (anti)neutrino scattering, estimated at the $3$-$4$ permille level. This uncertainty arises from limited knowledge of the charge-isospin correlation function of quark currents. We study the charge-charge and charge-isospin correlators within $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ and $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ chiral perturbation theory (ChPT). In $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ ChPT, the two correlators are identical to all orders in the chiral and electromagnetic expansions. We further perform a leading-order $\mathrm{SU}(3)$ ChPT calculation and discuss the relevant counterterms. Our findings reduce the hadronic uncertainty in neutral-current processes such as (anti)neutrino-electron and coherent elastic (anti)neutrino-nucleus scattering by a factor $\sim 35$.

Core-collapse supernovae, occurring at the end of massive star evolution, produce heavy elements, including those in the iron peak. Although the explosion mechanism is not yet fully understood, theoretical models can reproduce optical observations and observed elemental abundances. However, many nuclear reaction rates involved in explosive nucleosynthesis have large uncertainties, impacting the reliability of abundance predictions. To address this, we have previously developed a Monte Carlo-based nucleosynthesis code that accounts for reaction rate uncertainties and has been applied to nucleosynthesis processes beyond iron. Our framework is also well suited for studying explosive nucleosynthesis in supernovae. In this paper, we investigate 1D explosion models using the "PUSH method", focusing on progenitors with varying metallicities and initial masses around $M_\mathrm{ZAMS} = 16 M_{\odot}$. Detailed post-process nucleosynthesis calculations and Monte Carlo analyses are used to explore the effects of reaction rate uncertainties and to identify key reaction rates in explosive nucleosynthesis. We find that many reactions have little impact on the production of iron-group nuclei, as these elements are primarily synthesized in the nuclear statistical equilibrium. However, we identify a few "key reactions" that significantly influence the production of radioactive nuclei, which may affect astrophysical observables. In particular, for the production of ${}^{44}$Ti, we confirm that several traditionally studied nuclear reactions have a strong impact. However, determining a single reaction rate is insufficient to draw a definitive conclusion.

In the established paradigm of jet quenching in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, jets from initial hard parton scatterings are suppressed due to their interaction with the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) as they traverse the hot medium, serving as crucial tomographic probes of QGP properties. The QGP is also capable of absorbing and reprocessing energy deposited by the hard jets into emergent jet-like objects, providing a novel production mechanism of thermal recoil jets. These emergent thermal recoil jets exhibit distinct transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) and jet-size ($R$) dependencies different from the hard jets, and naturally explain the puzzling observation of the enhanced yields of hadron or photon triggered jets at large azimuthal angle and solely at small $p_\mathrm{T}$ and large $R$. These thermal recoil jets are predicted to have unique substructures, such as their jet shape that increases with the radius and the thermal-like distribution of their constituents, which can be verified in future experimental analyses.