The identical charged-kaon correlations induced by quantum-statistics effects and final-state interactions are measured in Pb-Pb collisions at s N N = 5.02 TeV . The results of one- (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) analyses show that the obtained system-size parameters (radii) are smaller for more peripheral collisions and decrease with increasing pair transverse momentum k T . The 1D parameters agree within uncertainties with those obtained in Pb-Pb collisions at s N N = 2.76 TeV . The observed power-law dependence of the extracted 3D radii as a function of the pair transverse momentum is a signature of the collective flow in the particle-emitting system created in Pb-Pb collisions. This dependence is well reproduced by the integrated hydrokinetic model calculations except for the outward projection of the radius (measured in the longitudinally comoving system) for the most central collisions. The time of maximal emission for kaons is extracted from the 3D analysis in a wide collision centrality range from 0 to 90%. Its reduction with decreasing charged-particle multiplicity is well reproduced by the hydrokinetic model predictions, and means that kaons are emitted earlier in more peripheral events.
We develop a generalized finite-temperature proton-neutron BCS framework using the superoperator formalism, incorporating both isovector and isoscalar monopole pairing channels. Numerical calculations for a schematic equidistant multilevel model and realistic even-even Ge isotopes demonstrate the emergence of proton-neutron (pn) pairing reentrance in even-even asymmetric (N>Z) nuclei with preexisting like-nucleon pairing correlations. This nonmonotonic behavior arises from thermal excitations that partially lift Pauli blocking of single-particle orbitals near the chemical potentials, thereby enlarging the phase space for pn pair formation. We uncover a delicate interplay between thermal unblocking and like-nucleon pairing, which can either suppress or enhance pn correlations depending on temperature and shell filling. A qualitative analysis of Fermi charge-exchange strength functions in hot ^72Ge, which neglects the residual interaction between thermal quasiparticles, suggests that pn pairing reentrance may alter the transition strength distribution around T≈1 MeV. This indicates that finite-temperature pn correlations could potentially impact stellar weak-interaction rates in rp-process and supernova environments.
We investigate neutron star matter with hyperons within a density-dependent relativistic mean-field framework using Bayesian inference, considering three composition scenarios: purely nucleonic matter, hyperonic matter under SU(6) flavor symmetry, and hyperonic matter under SU(3) symmetry with free vector-sector parameters. The analysis incorporates constraints from empirical nuclear matter properties, theoretical inputs at low densities, and multimessenger observations of neutron stars. We find that the SU(6) scheme, grounded in the quark model and isospin counting rule, leads to a significantly softer equation of state. In contrast, the additional flexibility of the SU(3) framework enhances vector repulsion and yields a comparatively stiffer equation of state consistent with observational bounds across the explored parameter space; in particular, the posterior distributions favor values of the vector coupling ratio α_v lower than the SU(6) limit α_v = 1. These differences are reflected in neutron star observables, including mass–radius relations, tidal deformabilities, direct Urca thresholds, and oscillation properties, all of which remain compatible with current constraints within the SU(3) scenario. We further examine structural signatures through the curvature of the mass–radius relation and find that, although hyperon-rich configurations can induce noticeable variations, such features depend sensitively on the stiffness of the equation of state and are therefore not universally robust indicators. Bayesian model comparison further shows that present constraints do not meaningfully discriminate between the purely nucleonic and SU(3) hyperonic scenarios, while providing positive, but not decisive, evidence against the more restrictive SU(6) framework.
The nuclear drip line plays a crucial role in determining the composition of matter under extreme astrophysical conditions. In core-collapse supernovae and neutron-star crusts, matter is driven far from saturation density and nuclear stability; nuclei coexist with a sea of free neutrons, an effect that is present even at zero temperature in neutron-star crusts and becomes more pronounced in the hotter, neutron-rich supernova environment. This makes a careful treatment of drip-line physics essential for a realistic description of the equation of state and composition. In this work, the influence of the nuclear drip line on the baryonic composition of supernova matter is investigated within the framework of nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE). The composition is evaluated in terms of free nucleons, light clusters, and heavy nuclei at finite temperature and global sub-saturation densities. The results indicate that, at low proton fractions and higher densities, the inclusion of nuclei beyond the drip line enhances the formation of extremely neutron-rich light clusters, leading to a significant reduction in the free-neutron density and the charge fraction of heavy nuclei. These findings demonstrate that drip-line physics has a significant impact on the composition of supernova matter and should be carefully incorporated in supernova modeling and nucleosynthesis studies.
Jet substructure studies at the CERN Large Hadron Collider have been used to constrain parton distribution functions, test perturbative quantum chromodynamics, measure the strong-coupling constant, and probe the properties of the quark-gluon plasma. We extend these studies to lower collision energies at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and present a feasibility and strategy study for the sPHENIX experiment. In this work, we perform a PYTHIA8 based Monte Carlo study of jet substructure in p + p collisions at s = 200 GeV with selection criteria adapted for a realistic measurement at sPHENIX. We consider jet substructure observables such as jet angularities and the primary Lund plane projection. In particular, we quantify the discriminating power of jet angularities for quark/gluon and light versus heavy flavor jets, and demonstrate how these observables can serve as experimentally accessible proxies for flavor separation at RHIC. We further show that the primary Lund plane exhibits a characteristic suppression pattern consistent with the dead cone effect for heavy quarks, and outline a concrete measurement strategy at sPHENIX based on a combination of heavy-flavor jet tagging and differential substructure observables.
