The unbound nucleus ${}^{15}$F was studied in proton-induced reactions on ${}^{14}$O, producing three narrow resonances above the 2$p$ decay threshold in ${}^{15}$F. In comparison to calculations that account for the particle continuum, it was found that the properties of these resonances are determined by the proximity to proton decay channels rather than by carrying the imprint of ${}^{14}$O$(0^{+})+1p$ configurations. Systematic investigations of such narrow resonances in unstable nuclei will open new perspectives in studies of effective interactions in nuclear open quantum systems.

Electron capture on neutron-rich nuclei near $N=50$ plays an important role during the gravitational collapse of massive stars prior to a supernova explosion, as neutrinos emitted in the electron-capture process can freely leave the stellar core. At the high temperatures in the stellar core the electron-capture rates are determined from thermally excited states whose properties differ from those of the ground state. The authors perform finite-temperature calculations with different theoretical approaches and use the resulting electron-capture rates as input in core-collapse supernova simulations. This work shows that the various sets of electron-capture rates lead to very small differences in the simulations suggesting that the rates are well-constrained.

The magnetic field generated in a high-energy collision of heavy ions might be weaker than previously thought, hindering the experimental search for field-related effects.

Synopsis on:
Zeyan Wang et al.
Phys. Rev. C 105, L041901 (2022)

The collective behavior of strongly interacting subatomic particles produced in high-energy proton and nuclear collisions is often interpreted using fluid dynamics. This paper considers systems of interacting cold atoms to explore the emergence of hydrodynamic behavior as a function of particle number. It proposes methods that have the potential to connect results of experiments performed with mesoscopic atomic systems with those performed at the Large Hadron Collider.

Low-energy effective theories have become a powerful tool in nuclear physics and elsewhere in the past several decades. This paper describes a large amount of experimental data in this framework as “pairing rotational bands” with just a few parameters. The pairing rotational tensor is akin to a moment of inertia in the gauge space of two interacting superfluids. Its eigenvectors rotate with respect to the ($N$,$Z$) coordinate system, and they approximately point in the direction of the valley of $\beta$ stability and perpendicular to it. Combining superfluidity with deformation shows that the lowest-lying excitations in atomic nuclei are model-independent and based on emergent symmetry breaking.

QCD jets initially produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions propagate through the quark-gluon plasma and act as tomographic probes of that dense medium. Measurements by the STAR Collaboration employ differential measurements of partonic energy loss to suggest that hard fragmenting jets at RHIC lose energy as a single color charge, over a range of jet opening angles.

APS has appointed Professor Joseph Kapusta, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota as the Lead Editor of Physical Review C. Professor Kapusta takes the helm following the journal’s previous Lead Editor Benjamin F. Gibson.

A look back at Physical Review C’s first half century, and a salute to the talented authors and diligent referees who have made the journal a success.

At the beginning of 2021, eight Physical Review journals began publishing Letters which are intended for the accelerated publication of important new results targeted to the specific readership of each journal.

APS Editor in Chief, Michael Thoennessen, discusses a new opportunity for communicating authors to include their pronouns together with their contact email in order to promote a more respectful, inclusive, and equitable environment.

Researchers look back at key contributions to the field of nuclear physics.

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