The need for reliable calculations of Nuclear Matrix Elements is compelling for the next generation of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. This requires nuclear models to be validated against experimental data, such as non-unique forbidden β decays, which have been found sensitive to details in nuclear calculations, most importantly to the renormalization of the axial and vector currents.

Preliminary results on the elastic scattering channel of the 70Zn (15 MeV/nucleon) + 64Ni reaction, studied with the MAGNEX large-acceptance spectrometer at INFN-LNS, are presented. This work is part of an extended effort to investigate reaction mechanisms in the Fermi energy regime, following previous analyses of momentum-per-nucleon distributions, angular distributions, and production cross sections of multinucleon transfer channels. Attention is here focused on elastic scattering of medium mass heavy ions and its sensitivity to the parameters of the nuclear equation of state (EOS). Experimental angular distributions were compared with Constrained Molecular Dynamics (CoMD) model calculations performed under different assumptions of nuclear matter compressibility (K = 200, 254, 308 MeV). The results indicate sensitivity of the elastic scattering differential cross sections to the compressibility of the nuclear EOS. Optical model calculations are also planned to complement the microscopic approach and provide complementary insight in the EOS.

The INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati was established in 1954 to host an electro-synchrotron, the first particle accelerator built in Italy, and since then played a crucial role in the field of nuclear and particle physics and for the development of acceleration and detection technologies. Within this historical tradition, a workshop was organized at LNF in the framework of the Nuclear Physics Mid Term Plan Italy, an initiative of the Nuclear Physics Division of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, to discuss the detection techniques employed in nuclear physics and to identify the open issues to be addressed to realize the scientific programs of the experiments foreseen in a midterm perspective. The present report summarizes the outcome of the discussions.

The Majorana Double Charge Exchange nuclear reaction mechanism represents a powerful and novel scenario to probe the dynamics of the neutrinoless double beta decay. Recent studies presented in this manuscript have highlighted a key feature of this mechanism, namely its independence with respect to the nuclei involved in the reaction.

This work presents the structural and instrumental modifications carried out on the Ion beam system for irradiation and applications (SAFIIRA) beamline at the Pelletron accelerator of the Universidade de São Paulo to enable the in-beam characterization of a gas tracker prototype developed for the Nuclear Matrix Elements for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (NUMEN) Project. The beamline was adapted to operate with high-purity isobutane at low pressures (10–30 mbar), requiring the implementation of a dedicated gas handling system, the installation of a thin silicon nitride (Si3N4) entrance window, a motorized target tower, and a chamber extension. The detector was tested with 16O, 12C, and 7Li ion beams under various tilt angles and beam rates. The system exhibited high stability during operation, with no signs of discharge or vacuum failure, confirming the suitability of the modified SAFIIRA setup for gas detector characterization under realistic experimental conditions.

The development of radiation-tolerant materials capable of maintaining structural, electrical, and thermal stability in extreme, radiation-rich environments remains a critical challenge in materials science. In this work, the effects of 60 MeV 35Cl ion irradiation on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and multilayer reduced graphene oxide (ML-rGO) were investigated. The samples were exposed to fluences of 5.11 & times; 109 and 1.3 & times; 1010 ions/cm2 and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and electrical transport measurements. The results show that the irradiation response is strongly influenced by the initial structural organization of the material. In HOPG, ion exposure leads to a progressive loss of crystalline order, evidenced by XRD peak broadening and an increase in the Raman ID/IG ratio, accompanied by a reduction in electrical transport performance. In contrast, ML-rGO exhibits distinct behavior at higher fluences, suggesting partial structural reorganization. The appearance of more defined graphitic features in XRD and Raman analyses, along with changes in surface morphology and electrical response, suggests the formation of more ordered sp2 domains. These findings indicate that irradiation effects vary with the initial degree of order, providing useful insights for selecting carbon-based materials for devices operating under severe radiation conditions.

The Majorana Double Charge Exchange (MDCE) provides a suitable environment for studying the dynamics of the neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay, particularly short-range correlations among nucleons. The study of the pion potential is essential in this respect, as it represents the strong interaction counterpart of the neutrino potential, driving nucleon correlations in 0νββ decay. Numerical studies on pion potential have revealed an effective range of about 1 fm with slight dispersion around this value, confirming the short-range character of the MDCE process.

Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) has been extensively researched due to its chemical and physical properties that make it suitable for applications in several technologies. Its high thermal conductivity makes HOPG an excellent heat sink, a crucial characteristic for manufacturing targets used in nuclear reactions, such as those proposed by the NUMEN project. However, when subjected to different radiation sources, this material undergoes changes in its crystalline structure, which alters its intended functionality. This study examined HOPG sheets before and after exposure to a 14 MeV neutron beam. Morphological and crystallographic analyses reveal that even minor disruptions in the high atomic ordering result in modifications to its thermal properties. The results of this study are essential to establish the survival time of the HOPG used as thermal interface material to improve heat dissipation of a nuclear target to be bombarded by an intense high-energy heavy-ion beam.

Different reactions channels induced by the 18O + 40Ca collisions at 275 MeV incident energy are analysed within a a multichannel approach. Experimental data from many reactions are simultaneously measured and a consistent analysis is performed with the same reaction and structure frameworks. The results are part of the NUMEN project. In particular, the elastic and inelastic scattering, one- and two-proton transfer, one-neutron transfer, and single charge exchange reactions are explored. The experimental data are well described by the theoretical calculations, performed by including microscopic nuclear structure inputs.

The 4He+4He inelastic scattering was experimentally investigated in an exclusive measurement at the MAGNEX facility of INFN - LNS, aiming at characterizing the 0+2 resonant state of 4He. Both the 4He+4He→4He+4He∗→4He+3H+p and 4He+4He→4He+4He∗→4He+3He+n configurations were measured together with an elastic scattering measurement in a wide angular range. In the present article, the experimental setup, the measurement and the data reduction are briefly described, pointing out the significance of an exclusive inelastic scattering measurement to suppress the background originating from other processes.

We give an updated view of the status and prospects of heavy-ion double charge exchange (HI-DCE) reaction studies performed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN-LNS) in the context of the NUMEN project. The important role of HI-DCE for nuclear reaction, nuclear structure and double beta-decay investigations is outlined. A powerful way to scrutinize the nuclear response to HI-DCE is to consistently link it to the information extracted from the competing direct reactions pointing to a multi-channel description of the whole network of quasi-elastic processes. Indeed, these complementary studies are mandatory in order to minimize the systematic errors in the data analyses and build a many-facets and parameter-free representation of the systems under study.

In our systematic research on reactions with weakly bound nuclei at suband nearbarrier energies, we have studied the system 8B+natZr at the sub-barrier energy of 26.5 MeV. Our measurements, performed at the TriSol radioactive beam facility of the University of Notre Dame, include angular distributions of both elastic scattering and breakup, for the determination of the total reaction and breakup cross sections as well as the direct-to-total reaction cross section ratio. Preliminary results of the breakup analysis will be presented, supported by Continuum Discretized Coupling Channel calculations.

The present work is inherent to the NUMEN project that aims at providing data-driven information for the nuclear matrix elements of the neutrinoless double beta decay through the study of heavy-ion induced double charge exchange reactions. This is a formidable task since during a nuclear collision, the same final states may be populated through various reaction mechanisms. In this respect, understanding the degree of competition between successive nucleon transfer and charge exchange reactions is crucial for the proper description of the meson-exchange mechanism. To this purpose, the reaction dynamics in the 18O+48Ti collision were sought by measuring a plethora of reaction channels under the same experimental conditions. The 48Ti was chosen as target since it is the daughter nucleus of 48Ca in double beta decay. The relevant experiment was performed at the MAGNEX facility of INFN-LNS in Catania. In this contribution, the status of the analysis for the 48Ti(18O,18F)48Sc single charge exchange reaction will be presented.

. - A full-comprehensive study of heavy-ion induced nuclear reac-tions is a powerful tool to characterize nuclear mean-field features as well as few-nucleon correlations in low-lying nuclear states. In this context, the investigation of 76Se(18O,17O)75Se and 76Se(18O,19F)75As transfer reactions was performed with the NUMEN project, aiming at providing data-driven information to constrain nu-clear structure models for the 76Se nucleus. This nucleus is under investigation since it is the daughter nucleus of 76Ge in the neutrinoless double beta decay (0 nu 1313) pro-cess. The experiment was performed at INFN-LNS where the 18O beam impinged the 76Se target and the reaction ejectiles were momentum analyzed by the MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer.

The study of the one-neutron transfer reaction in the 18 O+ 48 Ti collision at the energy of 275 MeV was performed as part of the multi-channel approach which is performed within the NUMEN project. That is to measure the complete reaction network characterized by the same initial and final state interactions as the more suppressed double charge exchange reactions. In this respect, angular distribution measurements for one- and two-nucleon transfer reactions in the 18 O+ 48 Ti collision were performed at the MAGNEX facility of INFN-LNS in Catania. This contribution summarizes the main findings from the analysis of the one-neutron transfer reaction.

The reaction dynamics for the proton halo nucleus $^{8}\mathrm{B}$ $+$ $^{\mathrm{nat}}\mathrm{Zr}$ is explored through an elastic scattering measurement at the sub-Coulomb barrier energy of 26.5 MeV. The differential angular distribution has been measured and the total reaction cross section as well as the interaction distance are derived via an optical model analysis. The present result is combined with relevant values for $^{8}\mathrm{B}$ in comparison with $^{6}\mathrm{He}$, $^{7}\mathrm{Be}$, $^{6,7}\mathrm{Li}$, and $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ on various targets through a consistent optical model analysis at sub- and near-barrier energies. The results demonstrate the proton halo nature of this exotic nucleus, which exhibits larger values for both the total reaction and interaction radii observables, than those determined for the proton-rich radioactive nucleus $^{7}\mathrm{Be}$ as well as for other stable weakly bound projectiles. Similar results are found for the neutron halo nucleus $^{6}\mathrm{He}$. The present elastic scattering results are also described well with continuum-discretized coupled-channels calculations, exhibiting a weak coupling to continuum.

The study of single-nucleon transfer reactions for the 18O+48Ti system was pursued at the energy of 275 MeV as part of a more systematic study which is undertaken within the NUMEN and NURE experimental campaigns. The aim is to measure the complete set of available reaction network which are characterized by the same initial and final-state wavefunctions as the more suppressed double charge exchange reactions. Understanding the degree of competition between successive nucleon transfer and double charge exchange reactions is crucial for the description of the meson-exchange mechanism. In this respect, angular distribution measurements for one- and twonucleon transfer reactions for the 18O+48Ti system were carried out at theMAGNEX facility of INFN-LNS in Catania. An overview of the data analysis for the 48Ti(18O,19F)47Sc and 48Ti(18O,17O)49Ti reactions will be presented.

In the context of the NUMEN project, the 18O + 48Ti collision at 275 MeV incident energy was studied for the first time. In the adopted multichannel approach, the elastic scattering was measured in order to deduce the initial state interaction and the corresponding optical potential. The angular distribution of elastic scattering was determined across a wide range of scattering angles.

The present work constitutes one of the few high-resolution mass spectrometric studies in the energy range of 15–25 MeV/nucleon in order to produce and identify neutron-rich projectile-like fragments from the reaction of 70Zn (15 MeV/nucleon) + 64Ni. We obtained high-quality experimental data from a recent experiment with the MAGNEX spectrometer at the INFN-LNS in Catania, Italy. The momentum distributions (p/A), angular distributions and the production cross sections of various multinucleon transfer channels were studied thoroughly. Our experimental distributions shown in this contribution are compared with two dynamical models, the Deep-Inelastic Transfer (DIT) model and the Constrained Molecular Dynamics (CoMD) model. Subsequently, the code GEMINI is applied for the de-excitation of the primary fragments. The DIT model, designed to describe the sequential exchange of nucleons, yielded an overall fair description of the processes that correspond to nucleon exchange, but is not able to effectively describe parts of the distributions that refer to direct reaction mechanisms. The microscopic CoMD model calculations indicate that further optimization is needed, that is currently underway. The present work outlines an experimental approach to study peripheral reactions of medium-mass nuclei in the Fermi energy regime and an effort to pave a systematic way toward the efficient production of exotic neutron-rich nuclei.

Existing high-resolution experimental data collected with the MAGNEX spectrometer were analyzed to investigate peripheral collisions of medium-mass nuclei from the reaction 70Zn (15 MeV/nucleon) + 64Ni. The main focus of this work was to correlate the observed ejectiles with the excitation energy of their progenitors. Experimental excitation energy distributions were generated and compared with the Deep-Inelastic Transfer (DIT) model. This revealed a dominance of direct reaction mechanisms located at low excitation energies and more complex mechanisms at higher energies. Future efforts include further detailed studies of the excitation energy distributions to elucidate the multinucleon transfer mechanisms and to comprehend the resolution limits achievable with medium-mass nuclei such as 70Zn.