We study proton-neutron pairing correlations within the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) framework using Gogny-type energy density functionals. By allowing for proton-neutron mixing in the quasi-particle transformation, both isovector ($T=1$) and isoscalar ($T=0$) pairing channels are explicitly included at the mean-field level. The \texttt{TAURUS} code has been extended to treat density-dependent Gogny interactions in this generalized HFB scheme. We examine the numerical behavior of the widely used Gogny D1S functional and compare it with calculations performed using the Hamiltonian-based Brink-Boecker B1 interaction supplemented by a zero-range spin-orbit term. When proton-neutron mixing is included and large single-particle spaces are employed, instabilities are observed for Gogny D1S due to the zero-range density-dependent term contribution to the proton-neutron pairing field, whereas stable solutions are obtained with the B1 interaction. Constrained HFB calculations performed in reduced configuration spaces allow us to explore total energy curves as functions of proton-neutron pairing collective coordinates in selected $sd$-shell nuclei. In all cases studied, the self-consistent minima correspond to vanishing proton-neutron pairing, with energy increasing rapidly as proton-neutron pairing correlations are introduced. These results provide insight into the behavior of Gogny functionals under generalized HFB conditions and offer useful guidance for future developments.

The simultaneous emission of two $\alpha$ particles--double-$\alpha$ decay--represents a long-predicted but unobserved mode of nuclear radioactivity. Here we formulate this process as a genuine three-body problem within the hyperspherical coordinate framework and evaluate decay probabilities by numerically solving the corresponding hyperradial Schrödinger equation, combined with large-scale random sampling of the potential parameters; the latter treatment ensures that the present results are more convincing. Inspired by this, we demonstrate that the penetrability ratio between simultaneous and sequential $\alpha$ emission exhibits a strikingly linear dependence on $ZQ_{\alpha\alpha}^{-1/2}$, extending the barrier penetration dynamics into the correlated few-body regime. The nuclei $^{108}$Xe, $^{218}$Ra, $^{224}$Pu, $^{222}$U, $^{216}$Rn, and $^{220}$Th are suggested as the most promising candidates for the observation of double-$\alpha$ decay, with predicted half-lives potentially accessible within present detection limits. Our results provide a unified framework for multi-$\alpha$ decay and open a pathway to probing nuclear clustering and few-body correlations in heavy nuclei.

Recent work on using density dependent $\Lambda$-nuclear optical potentials in calculations of $\Lambda$-hypernuclear binding energies is reviewed. It is found that all known $\Lambda$ binding energies in the mass range $16 \leq A \leq 208$ are well fitted in terms of two interaction parameters: one, attractive, for the spin-averaged $\Lambda N$ interaction and another one, repulsive, for the $\Lambda NN$ interaction. The $\Lambda N$ interaction term by itself overbinds $\Lambda$ hypernuclei, in quantitative agreement with recent findings obtained in EFT and Femtoscopy studies. The strength of the $\Lambda NN$ interaction term is compatible with values required to resolve the hyperon puzzle.

Characterizing the correlated behavior of nucleons inside atomic nuclei constitutes a long-standing challenge, both experimentally and theoretically. It has recently been understood that two-particle correlations in the azimuthal distribution of final hadrons emitted in ultra-relativistic ultra-central ion-ion collisions can be used to quantify ground-state two-body correlations. Performing systematic ab initio nuclear structure calculations of light nuclei, we demonstrate that such an observable does provide a meaningful imaging of nuclear ground states, naturally leading to a robust interpretation of the various categories of two-nucleon correlations at play. This is at variance with the low-energy approach relying on Kumar operators whose traditional interpretation in terms of deformation parameters is shown to be inoperative. A future interesting development will consist of targeting specific three-particle correlations to isolate three-nucleon correlations in which additional nuclear structure information of interest leave their fingerprint.

A survey is presented summarizing the empirical evidence for and interpretations of a first-order liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear matter. Earlier developments and the present state of knowledge about the extraction of the critical point for such a transition, primarily from the systematics of multifragmention data, are outlined. By analogy with a Van der Waals equation of state, the empirically deduced critical temperature and pressure permit to draw a schematic picture of the underlying nuclear potential. More detailed approaches to the liquid-gas transition using self-consistent nuclear Hartree-Fock and variational calculations are described. Critical exponents are reported. Then chiral effective field theory, as the low-energy realization of QCD, is discussed in the context of nuclear thermodynamics. Its implications for the liquid-gas transition in symmetric nuclear matter as well as in neutron-rich matter are reviewed.

We respond to comments in arXiv:2502.15817v2 about our article, arXiv:2412.12282. We stand by our conclusions and defend them against the criticisms.

We study entanglement suppression in $s$-wave $\Omega\Omega$ scattering, where each baryon has spin $3/2$. By treating the $S$-matrix as a quantum operator acting on the spin states, we quantify its ability to generate entanglement and identify the conditions on the phase shifts of the spin channels that minimize entanglement generation in the system. In $\Omega\Omega$ scattering, only antisymmetric spin channels are allowed due to Fermi-Dirac statistics. Applying the entanglement-suppression framework to $\Omega\Omega$ scattering, we find two solutions for the phase shifts: one leading to a spin SU(4) symmetry and the other to a nonrelativistic conformal symmetry. We show that the solution associated with the nonrelativistic conformal symmetry originates from the specific structure of the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients in the $3/2 \otimes 3/2$ system.

We explore the impact of two-body currents (2BCs) at finite momentum transfer with a focus on magnetic dipole properties in $^{48}$Ca and $^{48}$Ti. To this end, we derive a multipole decomposition of 2BCs to fully include the momentum-transfer dependence in $\mathit{ab\,initio}$ calculations. As application, we investigate the effects of 2BCs on the strong M1 transition at 10.23$\,$MeV in $^{48}$Ca using the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group (VS-IMSRG) with a set of non-implausible interactions as well as the 1.8/2.0 (EM) interaction. Experiments, such as $(e,e')$ and $(\gamma,n)$, disagree on the magnetic dipole strength $B$(M1) for this transition. Our VS-IMSRG results favor larger $B$(M1) values similar to recent coupled-cluster calculations. However, for this transition there are larger cancellations between the leading pion-in-flight and seagull 2BCs, so that future calculations including higher-order 2BCs are important. For validation of our results, we investigate additional observables in $^{48}$Ca as well as M1 transitions in $^{48}$Ti. For these, our results agree with experiment. Finally, our results show that for medium-mass nuclei 2BC contributions to M1 and Gamow-Teller transitions are, as expected, very different. Therefore, using similar quenching factors for both in phenomenological calculations is not supported from first principles.

We investigate the cluster-breaking effect and spatial distribution of negative-parity states in the 12 Lambda B hypernucleus using the Hyper-Brink model with cluster-breaking(CB-Hyper-Brink) optimized via Control Neural Network (this http URL). The results demonstrate that the inclusion of cluster-breaking is essential for accurately reproducing the observed low-lying energy levels and for making reliable predictions of the Hoyle-analog state 1-4 in 12 Lambda B. Cluster-breaking manifests as strong spin-orbit correlations and the dissolution of ideal cluster configurations, as revealed by the analysis of one-body spin-orbit operator expectation values and the spatial overlap with projected cluster bases. The interplay between short-range repulsion and intermediate-range attraction in the Lambda N interaction induces the cluster reconfiguration effect, which is characterized by the coexistence of Lambda-alpha and Lambda-triton correlations; this reconfiguration effect leads to a modest stabilization and shrinkage of cluster structures. The variation in electric quadrupole transition strengths, B(E2), between the ground and Hoyle-analog states serves as a sensitive probe for the degree of cluster-breaking, providing direct evidence for its physical relevance. These findings highlight the crucial role of cluster-breaking in characterizing the hypernuclear structure and offer a comprehensive framework for understanding the interplay between clustering and shell-model dynamics in hypernuclei.

Newly, first-principles lattice QCD results at the physical pion mass, $ m_\pi \backsimeq 137.1 $ MeV, have been reported by the HAL QCD Collaboration for the S-wave interaction between the nucleon ($N$) and the triply charmed Omega baryon ($\Omega_{ccc}$). The $N\Omega_{ccc}$ potentials in the spin-1 $ \left(^{3}S_{1}\right) $ and spin-2 $ \left(^{5}S_{2}\right) $ channels were derived and found to be attractive, though no two-body bound state was supported in these channels. The present work investigates the $NN\Omega_{ccc}$ three-body system using the Malfliet-Tjon $NN$ potential. Analyses of spin-1, spin-averaged, and spin-2 $N\Omega_{ccc}$ channels (at Euclidean times 16, 17, 18) reveal a three-body bound state only for the d-$\Omega_{ccc}$ configuration with spin $(0)1/2^{+}$ and $t/a=16$. Its binding energy ($B_3 = -2.255$ MeV) lies slightly below the deuteron's ($B_d = -2.23$ MeV). Other parameter sets do not yield a bound state, and complex scaling analysis indicates these configurations correspond to virtual states rather than resonances. The Coulomb potential's role was also examined to differentiate charged states.

We give an analytical expression for the in-plane polarization $P^{x}$, in heavy-ion collisions that has, to our knowledge, not been measured in heavy-ion collision experiments. We also carry out a numerical study of $P^{x}$ using a hydrodynamic model simulation as a cross-check for the analytical formula. It is found that if the temperature-gradient contribution is neglected the simulation result for $P^{x}$ qualitatively agrees with the analytical one. The prediction of $P^{x}$ can be tested in experiments and will contribute to provide a complete and consistent picture of spin phenomena in heavy-ion collisions.