Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector.

Maximizing the discovery potential of increasingly precise neutrino experiments will require an improved theoretical understanding of neutrino-nucleus cross sections over a wide range of energies. Low-energy interactions are needed to reconstruct the energies of astrophysical neutrinos from supernovae bursts and search for new physics using increasingly precise measurement of coherent elastic neutrino scattering. Higher-energy interactions involve a variety of reaction mechanisms including quasi-elastic scattering, resonance production, and deep inelastic scattering that must all be included to reliably predict cross sections for energies relevant to DUNE and other accelerator neutrino experiments. Refined nuclear interaction models in these energy regimes will also be valuable for other applications, such as measurements of reactor, solar, and atmospheric neutrinos. This manuscript discusses the theoretical status, challenges, required resources, and path forward for achieving precise predictions of neutrino-nucleus scattering and emphasizes the need for a coordinated theoretical effort involved lattice QCD, nuclear effective theories, phenomenological models of the transition region, and event generators.

This white paper is the result of a collaboration by many of those that attended a workshop at the facility for rare isotope beams (FRIB), organized by the FRIB Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA), on 'Theoretical Justifications and Motivations for Early High-Profile FRIB Experiments'. It covers a wide range of topics related to the science that will be explored at FRIB. After a brief introduction, the sections address: section 2: Overview of theoretical methods, section 3: Experimental capabilities, section 4: Structure, section 5: Near-threshold Physics, section 6: Reaction mechanisms, section 7: Nuclear equations of state, section 8: Nuclear astrophysics, section 9: Fundamental symmetries, and section 10: Experimental design and uncertainty quantification.

The XLZD collaboration is developing a two-phase xenon time projection chamber with an active mass of 60–80 t capable of probing the remaining weakly interacting massive particle-nucleon interaction parameter space down to the so-called neutrino fog. In this work we show that, based on the performance of currently operating detectors using the same technology and a realistic reduction of radioactivity in detector materials, such an experiment will also be able to competitively search for neutrinoless double beta decay in ¹³⁶Xe using a natural-abundance xenon target. XLZD can reach a 3σ discovery potential half-life of 5.7 × 10²⁷ years (and a 90% CL exclusion of 1.3 × 10²⁸ years) with 10 years of data taking, corresponding to a Majorana mass range of 7.3–31.3 meV (4.8–20.5 meV). XLZD will thus exclude the inverted neutrino mass ordering parameter space and will start to probe the normal ordering region for most of the nuclear matrix elements commonly considered by the community.

Theoretical predictions for particle production cross sections and decays at colliders rely heavily on perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) calculations, expressed as an expansion in powers of the strong coupling constant α_S. The current ${ \mathcal O }(1 \% )$ uncertainty of the QCD coupling evaluated at the reference Z boson mass, ${\alpha }_{S}({m}_{{\rm{Z}}}^{2})=0.1179\pm 0.0009$, is one of the limiting factors to more precisely describe multiple processes at current and future colliders. A reduction of this uncertainty is thus a prerequisite to perform precision tests of the Standard Model as well as searches for new physics. This report provides a comprehensive summary of the state-of-the-art, challenges, and prospects in the experimental and theoretical study of the strong coupling. The current ${\alpha }_{S}({m}_{{\rm{Z}}}^{2})$ world average is derived from a combination of seven categories of observables: (i) lattice QCD, (ii) hadronic τ decays, (iii) deep-inelastic scattering and parton distribution functions fits, (iv) electroweak boson decays, hadronic final-states in (v) e⁺e⁻, (vi) e–p, and (vii) p–p collisions, and (viii) quarkonia decays and masses. We review the current status of each of these seven ${\alpha }_{S}({m}_{{\rm{Z}}}^{2})$ extraction methods, discuss novel α_S determinations, and examine the averaging method used to obtain the world-average value. Each of the methods discussed provides a 'wish list' of experimental and theoretical developments required in order to achieve the goal of a per-mille precision on ${\alpha }_{S}({m}_{{\rm{Z}}}^{2})$ within the next decade.

The European spallation source (ESS) will be the world's brightest neutron source and will open a new intensity frontier in particle physics. The HIBEAM collaboration aims to exploit the unique potential of the ESS with a dedicated ESS instrument for particle physics which offers world-leading capability in a number of areas. The HIBEAM program includes the first search in thirty years for free neutrons converting to antineutrons and searches for sterile neutrons, ultralight axion dark matter and nonzero neutron electric charge. This paper outlines the capabilities, design, infrastructure, and scientific potential of the HIBEAM program, including its dedicated beamline, neutron optical system, magnetic shielding and control, and detectors for neutrons and antineutrons. Additionally, we discuss the long-term scientific exploitation of HIBEAM, which may include measurements of the neutron electric dipole moment and precision studies of neutron decays.

Baryon number conservation is not guaranteed by any fundamental symmetry within the standard model, and therefore has been a subject of experimental and theoretical scrutiny for decades. So far, no evidence for baryon number violation has been observed. Large underground detectors have long been used for both neutrino detection and searches for baryon number violating processes. The next generation of large neutrino detectors will seek to improve upon the limits set by past and current experiments and will cover a range of lifetimes predicted by several Grand Unified Theories. In this White Paper, we summarize theoretical motivations and experimental aspects of searches for baryon number violation in neutrino experiments.

High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe standard model (SM) processes and search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). In this report, we review the status of the civil engineering plans and the experiments to explore the diverse physics signals that can be uniquely probed in the forward region. FPF experiments will be sensitive to a broad range of BSM physics through searches for new particle scattering or decay signatures and deviations from SM expectations in high statistics analyses with TeV neutrinos in this low-background environment. High statistics neutrino detection will also provide valuable data for fundamental topics in perturbative and non-perturbative QCD and in weak interactions. Experiments at the FPF will enable synergies between forward particle production at the LHC and astroparticle physics to be exploited. We report here on these physics topics, on infrastructure, detector, and simulation studies, and on future directions to realize the FPF's physics potential.

Particles beyond the Standard Model (SM) can generically have lifetimes that are long compared to SM particles at the weak scale. When produced at experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, these long-lived particles (LLPs) can decay far from the interaction vertex of the primary proton–proton collision. Such LLP signatures are distinct from those of promptly decaying particles that are targeted by the majority of searches for new physics at the LHC, often requiring customized techniques to identify, for example, significantly displaced decay vertices, tracks with atypical properties, and short track segments. Given their non-standard nature, a comprehensive overview of LLP signatures at the LHC is beneficial to ensure that possible avenues of the discovery of new physics are not overlooked. Here we report on the joint work of a community of theorists and experimentalists with the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments—as well as those working on dedicated experiments such as MoEDAL, milliQan, MATHUSLA, CODEX-b, and FASER—to survey the current state of LLP searches at the LHC, and to chart a path for the development of LLP searches into the future, both in the upcoming Run 3 and at the high-luminosity LHC. The work is organized around the current and future potential capabilities of LHC experiments to generally discover new LLPs, and takes a signature-based approach to surveying classes of models that give rise to LLPs rather than emphasizing any particular theory motivation. We develop a set of simplified models; assess the coverage of current searches; document known, often unexpected backgrounds; explore the capabilities of proposed detector upgrades; provide recommendations for the presentation of search results; and look towards the newest frontiers, namely high-multiplicity 'dark showers', highlighting opportunities for expanding the LHC reach for these signals.

In heavy-ion collisions, elliptic flow (v₂) quantifies the azimuthal anisotropy in particle emission, reflecting the medium's response to initial spatial anisotropies. The presence of Electromagnetic fields produced by the fast moving protons in the nucleus can modify this flow, causing a splitting of v₂ between the produced particles and antiparticles. Hence in this study, we explore this effect, emphasizing the dominant role of electric fields in the charge splitting of elliptic flow, Δv₂, as a function of transverse momentum (p_T). The velocity and temperature profiles of quark-gluon plasma medium is described through thermal model calculations. The electromagnetic field evolution is however determined from the solutions of Maxwell's equations, assuming constant electric and chiral conductivities. We find that the slower decay of the electric fields compared to the magnetic fields makes its impact on the splitting of the elliptic flow more dominant. We further estimated that the maximum value of ∣〈eF〉∣, evaluated by averaging the field values over all spatial points on the hypersurface and across all field components, is approximately $(0.01\pm 0.0002)\,{m}_{\pi }^{2}$ for $\sqrt{{s}_{\,{\rm{NN}}\,}}=7.7\,\,\rm{GeV}\,$, which could describe the splitting of elliptic flow data within the current experimental uncertainty reasonably well.

This white paper is the result of a collaboration by many of those that attended a workshop at the facility for rare isotope beams (FRIB), organized by the FRIB Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA), on 'Theoretical Justifications and Motivations for Early High-Profile FRIB Experiments'. It covers a wide range of topics related to the science that will be explored at FRIB. After a brief introduction, the sections address: section 2: Overview of theoretical methods, section 3: Experimental capabilities, section 4: Structure, section 5: Near-threshold Physics, section 6: Reaction mechanisms, section 7: Nuclear equations of state, section 8: Nuclear astrophysics, section 9: Fundamental symmetries, and section 10: Experimental design and uncertainty quantification.

We have studied the charge and the heat transport properties of a hot and dense QCD matter by solving the relativistic Boltzmann transport equation using a novel approximation method. Following the recently developed novel relaxation time approximation (RTA) model, we have proposed a novel Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) model with a modified collision integral to carry out the aforementioned study. We have also compared our findings with the results of the novel RTA, the standard RTA and the standard BGK models. Our observation shows that the novel collision integrals for both the RTA and BGK models decrease the charge and the heat transport phenomena in the medium, as evidenced by the reduced values of the transport coefficients, such as the electrical conductivity and the thermal conductivity, when compared to the standard RTA and standard BGK models. Furthermore, certain observables associated with the abovementioned transport coefficients, such as the thermal diffusion constant and the Lorenz number have been explored using the novel approaches of the aforesaid models. We have found an overall decreasing trend of the thermal diffusion constant with the temperature in the novel BGK model, similar to the novel RTA model, but the magnitude remains higher throughout the temperature range. However, the magnitude of the thermal diffusion constant in the proposed novel BGK model remains conspicuously lower than its value in the standard BGK model. The magnitude of the Lorenz number in the novel BGK model remains significantly higher than that in the standard BGK model, but it is lower than that in the novel RTA model. We have also observed that the Lorenz number in all cases has an increasing trend at low temperatures, showing a violation of the Wiedemann–Franz law, whereas at high temperatures, it becomes saturated. The Lorenz number remaining above unity indicates that the thermal conductivity prevails over the electrical conductivity in the aforesaid models.

We present a systematic study of the PYTHIA 8.311 model under various hadronization mechanisms to investigate proton, charged pion, and charged kaon production in inelastic proton–proton collisions at CERN SPS energies ranging from 20 to 158 GeV/c. Specifically, we compare four hadronization scenarios: (i) the default popcorn mechanism, which permits extended string configurations with intermediate meson formation between baryon-antibaryon pairs; (ii) a diquark scenario utilizing a QCD-based color reconnection scheme (CR1) designed to minimize string lengths, thereby restricting baryon production exclusively to baryon-antibaryon pairs; (iii) a junction-based scenario where baryon number is carried by non-perturbative QCD string junctions; and (iv) a thermal model featuring string tension fluctuations, leading to a thermal-like transverse momentum distribution. Our results indicate that the default popcorn approach inadequately describes proton stopping and hadron distributions at mid-rapidity, especially at lower collision energies. In contrast, the diquark scenario significantly enhances the accuracy of proton rapidity distributions, while the thermal model further improves the reproduction of pion spectra at lower transverse momenta and captures essential features of strangeness production, specifically suppressing K⁻ at central rapidity (y < 1) and enhancing K⁺ yields. Conversely, the junction-based scenario provides no substantial improvement at higher SPS energies. These findings underscore the necessity of refined hadronization descriptions for accurately modeling particle production at SPS energies.

The European spallation source (ESS) will be the world's brightest neutron source and will open a new intensity frontier in particle physics. The HIBEAM collaboration aims to exploit the unique potential of the ESS with a dedicated ESS instrument for particle physics which offers world-leading capability in a number of areas. The HIBEAM program includes the first search in thirty years for free neutrons converting to antineutrons and searches for sterile neutrons, ultralight axion dark matter and nonzero neutron electric charge. This paper outlines the capabilities, design, infrastructure, and scientific potential of the HIBEAM program, including its dedicated beamline, neutron optical system, magnetic shielding and control, and detectors for neutrons and antineutrons. Additionally, we discuss the long-term scientific exploitation of HIBEAM, which may include measurements of the neutron electric dipole moment and precision studies of neutron decays.

This white paper is the result of a collaboration by many of those that attended a workshop at the facility for rare isotope beams (FRIB), organized by the FRIB Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA), on 'Theoretical Justifications and Motivations for Early High-Profile FRIB Experiments'. It covers a wide range of topics related to the science that will be explored at FRIB. After a brief introduction, the sections address: section 2: Overview of theoretical methods, section 3: Experimental capabilities, section 4: Structure, section 5: Near-threshold Physics, section 6: Reaction mechanisms, section 7: Nuclear equations of state, section 8: Nuclear astrophysics, section 9: Fundamental symmetries, and section 10: Experimental design and uncertainty quantification.

Maximizing the discovery potential of increasingly precise neutrino experiments will require an improved theoretical understanding of neutrino-nucleus cross sections over a wide range of energies. Low-energy interactions are needed to reconstruct the energies of astrophysical neutrinos from supernovae bursts and search for new physics using increasingly precise measurement of coherent elastic neutrino scattering. Higher-energy interactions involve a variety of reaction mechanisms including quasi-elastic scattering, resonance production, and deep inelastic scattering that must all be included to reliably predict cross sections for energies relevant to DUNE and other accelerator neutrino experiments. Refined nuclear interaction models in these energy regimes will also be valuable for other applications, such as measurements of reactor, solar, and atmospheric neutrinos. This manuscript discusses the theoretical status, challenges, required resources, and path forward for achieving precise predictions of neutrino-nucleus scattering and emphasizes the need for a coordinated theoretical effort involved lattice QCD, nuclear effective theories, phenomenological models of the transition region, and event generators.

Collective modes emerge as the relevant degrees of freedom that govern low-energy excitations of atomic nuclei. These modes—rotations, pairing rotations, and vibrations—are separated in energy from non-collective excitations, making it possible to describe them in the framework of effective field theory. Rotations and pairing rotations are the remnants of Nambu–Goldstone modes from the emergent breaking of rotational symmetry and phase symmetries in finite deformed and finite superfluid nuclei, respectively. The symmetry breaking severely constrains the structure of low-energy Lagrangians and thereby clarifies what is essential and simplifies the description. The approach via effective field theories exposes the essence of nuclear collective excitations and is defined with a breakdown scale in mind. This permits one to make systematic improvements and to estimate and quantify uncertainties. Effective field theories of collective excitations have been used to compute spectra, transition rates, and other matrix elements of interest. In particular, predictions of the nuclear matrix element for neutrinoless double beta decay then come with quantified uncertainties. This review summarizes these results and also compares the approach via effective field theories to well-known models and ab initio computations.

In modern high energy physics (HEP) experiments, triggers perform the important task of selecting, in real time, the data to be recorded and saved for physics analyses. As a result, trigger strategies play a key role in extracting relevant information from the vast streams of data produced at facilities like the large hadron collider (LHC). As the energy and luminosity of the collisions increase, these strategies must be upgraded and maintained to suit the experimental needs. This whitepaper presents a high-level overview and reviews recent developments of triggering practices employed at the LHC. The general trigger principles applied at modern HEP experiments are highlighted, with specific reference to the current trigger state-of-the-art within the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb collaborations. Furthermore, a brief synopsis of the new trigger paradigm required by the upcoming high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC is provided. This whitepaper, compiled by Early Stage Researchers of the SMARTHEP network, is not meant to provide an exhaustive review or substitute documentation and papers from the collaborations themselves, but rather offer general considerations and examples from the literature that are relevant to the SMARTHEP network.

Collective anisotropic flow, where particles are correlated over the entire event, is a prominent phenomenon in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and is sensitive to the properties of the matter created in those collisions. It is often measured by two- and multi-particle correlations and is therefore contaminated by nonflow, those genuine few-body correlations unrelated to the global event-wise correlations. Many methods have been devised to estimate nonflow contamination with various degrees of successes and difficulties. Here, we review those methods pedagogically, discussing the pros and cons of each method, and give examples of ballpark estimate of nonflow contamination and associated uncertainties in relativistic heavy-ion collisions. We hope such a review of the various nonflow estimation methods in a single place would prove helpful to future researches.

We present a microscopic description of cluster emission processes &#xD;within the Cluster--Hartree--Fock (CHF) self--consistent field (SCF) &#xD;theory. The starting point is a Woods--Saxon (WS) mean field (MF) with &#xD;spin--orbit and Coulomb terms. Pairing is treated through standard &#xD;Bardeen--Cooper--Schrieffer (BCS) quasiparticles. The residual two--body&#xD;interaction is given by a density--dependent Wigner force having a &#xD;Gaussian shape with a center of mass (com) correction located in a&#xD;region of low nuclear density slightly beyond the geometrical contact &#xD;radius of a system comprised from a nucleus and a surface cluster. We &#xD;show that such a description adequately reproduces the ground state (gs)&#xD;shape of a spherical nucleus while the surface correction enhances the &#xD;radial tail of single particle (sp) orbitals, thus allowing for a &#xD;good description of the decay width for unstable systems.

Neutron-rich odd carbon isotopes are the typical candidates possessing novel one-neutron ($1n$) halo structure. &#xD;For the first time, we employ the axially deformed relativistic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (D-RHFB) model with the effects of the continuum, pairing correlations and tensor force to achieve&#xD;the $1/2^+$ ground state (g.s.) supporting $1n$ halo of $^{19}$C, which is a long-standing problem for theorists.&#xD;Taking the structural D-RHFB as the inputs of the Glauber model, we can reproduce the $1n$ removal cross sections and the narrow longitudinal momentum distributions of the breakup reaction $^{19}$C + $^{9}$Be at both low-energy region 60, 70 MeV/u and high-energy region 700 MeV/u, respectively. &#xD;Furthermore, we clarify the dominant $s$-wave contribution to $1n$ halo from the reaction observables, while the possibility of $3/2^+$ for g.s. in $^{19}$C has been completely ruled out.&#xD;Additionally, it is found that the continuum plays a crucial role in the formation of halo nucleus, whereas the tensor force carried by the $\pi$-meson coupling does not exert much effect on the halo extension.

We present an exploratory lattice QCD analysis of the $ \Omega $-baryon spectrum. Using a basis of only local smeared three-quark operators in a correlation matrix analysis, we report masses for the ground, first and second excited states of the $ J^P = 1/2^\pm,\, 3/2^\pm $ spectra across a broad range in the light quark mass. We investigate the parity and spin quantum numbers for the states observed on the lattice, looking to reconcile these with the resonances encountered in experiment. We find that the $ \Omega^-(2012) $ as reported by the Particle Data Group corresponds to two overlapping resonances with $ J^P = 1/2^- $ and $ 3/2^- $. We also propose quantum number assignments for the higher energy resonances, and identify successive radial excitations within the spectra.

This work explores the construction of a fast emulator for the calculation of the final pattern of nucleosynthesis in the rapid neutron capture process (the r-process). An emulator is built using a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN). We train the ANN with nuclear data and relative abundance patterns. We take as input the β-decay half-lives and the one-neutron separation energy of the nuclei in the rare-earth region. The output is the final isotopic abundance pattern. In this work, we focus on the nuclear data and abundance patterns in the rare-earth region to reduce the dimension of the input and output space.&#xD;We show that the ANN can capture the effect of the changes in the nuclear physics inputs on the final r-process abundance pattern in the adopted astrophysical conditions. We employ the deep ensemble method to quantify the prediction uncertainty of the neural network emulator. The emulator achieves a speed-up by a factor of about 20,000 in obtaining a final abundance pattern in the rare-earth region. The emulator may be utilized in statistical analyses such as uncertainty quantification, inverse problems, and sensitivity analysis.

We investigate how hadronic scattering cross sections $\sigma_{H}$ of the hadronic transport processes shape charged hadron observables in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200\rm{GeV}$ using the AMPT model. By adjusting cross sections, we find that larger $\sigma_{H}$ reduces midrapidity charged hadron multiplicity and flattens transverse momentum spectra. While anisotropic flow is secondarily affected by $\sigma_{H}$ due to its dominance by partonic stage dynamics, HBT radii for pions and kaons exhibit strong sensitivity to $\sigma_{H}$, with elastic and inelastic pion scattering driving spatial expansion. HBT radii of kaons further depend on inelastic interactions with pions, yet increasing kaon cross sections enhances kaon HBT radii without altering pion HBT radii, revealing distinct rescattering mechanisms. These results resolve the HBT underestimation in default AMPT simulations and establish critical constraints for refining transport models and quantifying hadronic viscosity in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

We present an exploratory lattice QCD analysis of the $ \Omega $-baryon spectrum. Using a basis of only local smeared three-quark operators in a correlation matrix analysis, we report masses for the ground, first and second excited states of the $ J^P = 1/2^\pm,\, 3/2^\pm $ spectra across a broad range in the light quark mass. We investigate the parity and spin quantum numbers for the states observed on the lattice, looking to reconcile these with the resonances encountered in experiment. We find that the $ \Omega^-(2012) $ as reported by the Particle Data Group corresponds to two overlapping resonances with $ J^P = 1/2^- $ and $ 3/2^- $. We also propose quantum number assignments for the higher energy resonances, and identify successive radial excitations within the spectra.

This white paper is the result of a collaboration by many of those that attended a workshop at the facility for rare isotope beams (FRIB), organized by the FRIB Theory Alliance (FRIB-TA), on 'Theoretical Justifications and Motivations for Early High-Profile FRIB Experiments'. It covers a wide range of topics related to the science that will be explored at FRIB. After a brief introduction, the sections address: section 2: Overview of theoretical methods, section 3: Experimental capabilities, section 4: Structure, section 5: Near-threshold Physics, section 6: Reaction mechanisms, section 7: Nuclear equations of state, section 8: Nuclear astrophysics, section 9: Fundamental symmetries, and section 10: Experimental design and uncertainty quantification.

This work explores the construction of a fast emulator for the calculation of the final pattern of nucleosynthesis in the rapid neutron capture process (the r-process). An emulator is built using a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN). We train the ANN with nuclear data and relative abundance patterns. We take as input the β-decay half-lives and the one-neutron separation energy of the nuclei in the rare-earth region. The output is the final isotopic abundance pattern. In this work, we focus on the nuclear data and abundance patterns in the rare-earth region to reduce the dimension of the input and output space.&#xD;We show that the ANN can capture the effect of the changes in the nuclear physics inputs on the final r-process abundance pattern in the adopted astrophysical conditions. We employ the deep ensemble method to quantify the prediction uncertainty of the neural network emulator. The emulator achieves a speed-up by a factor of about 20,000 in obtaining a final abundance pattern in the rare-earth region. The emulator may be utilized in statistical analyses such as uncertainty quantification, inverse problems, and sensitivity analysis.

The European spallation source (ESS) will be the world's brightest neutron source and will open a new intensity frontier in particle physics. The HIBEAM collaboration aims to exploit the unique potential of the ESS with a dedicated ESS instrument for particle physics which offers world-leading capability in a number of areas. The HIBEAM program includes the first search in thirty years for free neutrons converting to antineutrons and searches for sterile neutrons, ultralight axion dark matter and nonzero neutron electric charge. This paper outlines the capabilities, design, infrastructure, and scientific potential of the HIBEAM program, including its dedicated beamline, neutron optical system, magnetic shielding and control, and detectors for neutrons and antineutrons. Additionally, we discuss the long-term scientific exploitation of HIBEAM, which may include measurements of the neutron electric dipole moment and precision studies of neutron decays.

Neutron physics is one of the oldest branches of the experimental nuclear physics,&#xD;but the investigation of the spontaneous neutron emission from the ground state along the neutron dripline is still at its beginning, in spite of the crucial importance for nuclear astrophysics. The proton dripline is much better investigated and a systematics of spontaneous proton half lives corected by the centrifugal barrier (monopole transitions) is given by the Geiger-Nuttall law $\log_{10}T\sim\chi$, &#xD;where $\chi\sim ZQ^{-1/2}$ is the Coulomb parameter characterizing the outgoing Coulomb-Hankel wave in terms of the daughter charge $Z$ and Q-value.&#xD;Our purpose is to propose a similar simple systematics of spontaneous neutron half lives, but in terms of the nuclear reduced radius $\rho=\kappa R\sim A^{1/3}Q^{1/2}$, characterizing the "neutral" outgoing spherical Hankel wave.&#xD;It turns out that the half life in emission of neutral particles is governed by the scaling law $T\sim\rho^{-2}\sim A^{-2/3}Q^{-1}$ for monopole transitions.&#xD;We evidence the important role of the angular momentum carried by the emitted neutron. The influence of the neutron wave function generated by a Woods-Saxon nuclear mean field is also analyzed.

The XLZD collaboration is developing a two-phase xenon time projection chamber with an active mass of 60–80 t capable of probing the remaining weakly interacting massive particle-nucleon interaction parameter space down to the so-called neutrino fog. In this work we show that, based on the performance of currently operating detectors using the same technology and a realistic reduction of radioactivity in detector materials, such an experiment will also be able to competitively search for neutrinoless double beta decay in ¹³⁶Xe using a natural-abundance xenon target. XLZD can reach a 3σ discovery potential half-life of 5.7 × 10²⁷ years (and a 90% CL exclusion of 1.3 × 10²⁸ years) with 10 years of data taking, corresponding to a Majorana mass range of 7.3–31.3 meV (4.8–20.5 meV). XLZD will thus exclude the inverted neutrino mass ordering parameter space and will start to probe the normal ordering region for most of the nuclear matrix elements commonly considered by the community.

Maximizing the discovery potential of increasingly precise neutrino experiments will require an improved theoretical understanding of neutrino-nucleus cross sections over a wide range of energies. Low-energy interactions are needed to reconstruct the energies of astrophysical neutrinos from supernovae bursts and search for new physics using increasingly precise measurement of coherent elastic neutrino scattering. Higher-energy interactions involve a variety of reaction mechanisms including quasi-elastic scattering, resonance production, and deep inelastic scattering that must all be included to reliably predict cross sections for energies relevant to DUNE and other accelerator neutrino experiments. Refined nuclear interaction models in these energy regimes will also be valuable for other applications, such as measurements of reactor, solar, and atmospheric neutrinos. This manuscript discusses the theoretical status, challenges, required resources, and path forward for achieving precise predictions of neutrino-nucleus scattering and emphasizes the need for a coordinated theoretical effort involved lattice QCD, nuclear effective theories, phenomenological models of the transition region, and event generators.

Lattice QCD calculations of the 2s radial excitation of the nucleon place the state at an energy of approximately 1.9 GeV, raising the possibility that it is associated with the N1/2⁺(1880) and N1/2⁺(1710) resonances through mixing with two-particle meson-baryon states. The discovery of the N1/2⁺(1880) resonance in pion photoproduction but not in πN scattering and the small width of the N1/2⁺(1710) resonance suggest that a state associated with these resonances would be insensitive to the manner in which pions are permitted to dress it. To explore this possibility, we examine the spectrum of nucleon radial excitations in both 2 + 1 flavour QCD and in simulations where the coupling to meson-baryon states is significantly modified through quenching. We find the energy of the 2s radial excitation to be insensitive to this modification for quark masses close to the physical point. This invariance provides further evidence that the 2s radial excitation of the nucleon is associated with the N1/2⁺(1880) and N1/2⁺(1710) resonances.

It is well known that the coupling of an axion-like particle with a photon modifies the Maxwell equations. One of the main consequences of these modifications is the conversion of axions into photons. Little has been said about other possible effects. In this paper we show that the trajectory of an electron can be significantly altered because of the emergence of an electric field due to the dark matter background of the axion-like particles in this modified axion-electrodynamics. Different dark matter densities and magnetic field strengths are considered and it is shown that an axion-like particle with a mass m_a ∼ 10⁻²² eV generates an electric field that can significantly change the trajectory of an electron in these scenarios.

Collective modes emerge as the relevant degrees of freedom that govern low-energy excitations of atomic nuclei. These modes—rotations, pairing rotations, and vibrations—are separated in energy from non-collective excitations, making it possible to describe them in the framework of effective field theory. Rotations and pairing rotations are the remnants of Nambu–Goldstone modes from the emergent breaking of rotational symmetry and phase symmetries in finite deformed and finite superfluid nuclei, respectively. The symmetry breaking severely constrains the structure of low-energy Lagrangians and thereby clarifies what is essential and simplifies the description. The approach via effective field theories exposes the essence of nuclear collective excitations and is defined with a breakdown scale in mind. This permits one to make systematic improvements and to estimate and quantify uncertainties. Effective field theories of collective excitations have been used to compute spectra, transition rates, and other matrix elements of interest. In particular, predictions of the nuclear matrix element for neutrinoless double beta decay then come with quantified uncertainties. This review summarizes these results and also compares the approach via effective field theories to well-known models and ab initio computations.