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1. Asymptotic normalization coefficients for $\alpha +{}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ synthesis and the $S$ factor for ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}(\alpha ,\gamma ){}^{16}\mathrm{O}$ radiative capture

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.110.055803  

   Mukhamedzhanov, A M; deBoer, R J; Irgaziev, B F; Blokhintsev, L D; Kadyrov, A S; Savin, D A (November 2024, Physical Review C)

   : The ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}(\alpha ,\gamma ){}^{16}\mathrm{O}$reaction, determining the survival of carbon in red giants, is of interest for nuclear reaction theory and nuclear astrophysics. A specific feature of the ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}$nuclear structure is the presence of two subthreshold bound states, (6.92 MeV, $2^{+}$) and (7.12 MeV, $1^{-}$), that dominate the behavior of the low-energy $S$factor. The strength of these subthreshold states is determined by their asymptotic normalization coefficients (ANCs), which need to be known with high accuracy. : The objective of this research is to examine how the subthreshold and ground-state ANCs impact the low-energy $S$factor, especially at the key astrophysical energy of $300\mathrm{keV}$. The $S$factors are calculated within the framework of the $R$-matrix method using the code. Our total $S$factor takes into account the $E1$and $E2$transitions to the ground state of ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}$including the interference of the subthreshold and higher resonances, which also interfere with the corresponding direct captures, and cascade radiative captures to the ground state of ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}$through four subthreshold states: $0_2^{+},3^{-},2^{+}$, and $1^{-}$. To evaluate the impact of subthreshold ANCs on the low-energy $S$factor, we employ two sets of the ANCs. The first selection, which offers higher ANC values, is attained through the extrapolation process [Blokhintsev , ]. The set with low ANC values was employed by deBoer []. A detailed comparison of the $S$factors at the most effective astrophysical energy of 300 keV is provided, along with an investigation into how the ground-state ANC affects this $S$factor. : The contribution to the total $E1$and $E2S$factors from the corresponding subthreshold resonances at $300\mathrm{keV}$are $(71–74)\%$and $(102–103)\%$, respectively. The correlation of the uncertainties of the subthreshold ANCs with the $E1$and $E2S\left(300\mathrm{keV}\right)$factors is found. The $E1$transition of the subthreshold resonance $1^{-}$does not depend on the ground-state ANC but interferes constructively with a broad $(9.585\mathrm{MeV};1^{-})$resonance giving (for the present subthreshold ANC) an additional $26\%$contribution to the total $E1S\left(300\mathrm{keV}\right)$factor. Interference of the $E2$transition through the subthreshold resonance $2^{+}$with direct capture is almost negligible for small ground-state ANC of $58{\mathrm{fm}}^{-1/2}$. However, its interference with direct capture for higher ground-state ANC of $337{\mathrm{fm}}^{-1/2}$is significant and destructive, contributing $-27\%$. The low-energy $S_{E2}\left(300\mathrm{keV}\right)$factor experiences a smaller increase when both subthfreshold and the ground-state ANCs rise together due to their anticorrelation, compared to when only the subthreshold ANCs increase. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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2. Magneto-optical trap of titanium atoms

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.023025  

   Eustice, Scott; Schrott, Jackson; Stöltzel, Anke; Wolf, Julian; Novoa, Diego; Cassella, Kayleigh; Stamper-Kurn, Dan M (April 2025, Physical Review Research)

   We realize a magneto-optical trap (MOT) of titanium (Ti) atoms, performing laser cooling on the 498 nm transition between the long-lived $3{\mathrm{d}}^3\left({}^4\mathrm{F}\right)4\mathrm{s}{\mathrm{a}}^5{\mathrm{F}}_5$metastable state and the $3{\mathrm{d}}^3\left({}^4\mathrm{F}\right)4\mathrm{p}{\mathrm{y}}^5{\mathrm{G}}_6^{\mathrm{o}}$excited state. Without the addition of any repumping light, we observe MOTs of the three stable, $I=0$bosonic isotopes, ${}^{46}\mathrm{Ti}, {}^{48}\mathrm{Ti}$, and ${}^{50}\mathrm{Ti}$. Up to $8.30\left(26\right)\times {10}^5{}^{48}\mathrm{Ti}$atoms are trapped at a maximum density of $1.3\left(4\right)\times {10}^{11}{\mathrm{cm}}^{-3}$and at a temperature of $90\left(15\right)\mu \mathrm{K}$. By measuring the decay of the MOT, we constrain the leakage branching ratio of the cooling transition ( $\le 2.5\times {10}^{-6}$) and the two-body loss coefficient ( $\le 2\times {10}^{-10}{\mathrm{cm}}^3{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$). Our approach to laser cooling Ti can be applied to other transition metals, enabling a significant expansion of the elements that can be laser cooled. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

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3. Reduction of spectroscopic overlap across the $Z=8$ shell in neutron-rich nuclei

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.109.054325  

   Redpath, T; Guèye, P; Baumann, T; Brown, B A; Cunningham, A; DeYoung, P A; Frank, N; Hoffman, C R; Kuchera, A N; Godoy, B Monteagudo; et al (May 2024, Physical Review C)

   Zhang, Lin (Ed.)

   The recent discovery and spectroscopic measurements of ${}^{27}\mathrm{O}$and ${}^{28}\mathrm{O}$suggests the disappearance of the $N=20$shell structure in these neutron-rich oxygen isotopes. We measured one- and two-proton removal cross sections from ${}^{27}\mathrm{F}$and ${}^{29}\mathrm{Ne}$, respectively, extracting spectroscopic factors and comparing them to shell model overlap functions coupled with eikonal reaction model calculations. The invariant mass technique was used to reconstruct the two-body ( ${}^{24}\mathrm{O}+n$) and three-body ( ${}^{24}\mathrm{O}+2n$) decay energies from knockout reactions of ${}^{27}\mathrm{F}$(106.2 MeV/u) and ${}^{29}\mathrm{Ne}$(112.8 MeV/u) beams impinging on a ${}^9\mathrm{Be}$target. The one-proton removal from ${}^{27}\mathrm{F}$strongly populated the ground state of ${}^{26}\mathrm{O}$and the extracted cross section of $3.4_{-1.5}^{+0.3}$mb agrees with eikonal model calculations that are normalized by the shell model spectroscopic factors and account for the systematic reduction factor observed for single nucleon removal reactions within the models used. For the two-proton removal reaction from ${}^{29}\mathrm{Ne}$an upper limit of 0.08 mb was extracted for populating states in ${}^{27}\mathrm{O}$decaying though the ground state of ${}^{26}\mathrm{O}$. The measured upper limit for the population of the ground state of ${}^{26}\mathrm{O}$in the two-proton removal reaction from ${}^{29}\mathrm{Ne}$indicates a significant difference in the underlying nuclear structure of ${}^{27}\mathrm{F}$and ${}^{29}\mathrm{Ne}$. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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4. Shedding Light on the Origin of ${}^{204}\mathrm{Pb}$ , the Heaviest $s$ -Process–Only Isotope in the Solar System

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.052702  

   Casanovas-Hoste, A; Domingo-Pardo, C; Lerendegui-Marco, J; Guerrero, C; Tarifeño-Saldivia, A; Krtička, M; Pignatari, M; Calviño, F; Schumann, D; Heinitz, S; et al (July 2024, Physical Review Letters)

   Asymptotic giant branch stars are responsible for the production of most of the heavy isotopes beyond Sr observed in the solar system. Among them, isotopes shielded from the $r$-process contribution by their stable isobars are defined as $s$-only nuclei. For a long time the abundance of ${}^{204}\mathrm{Pb}$, the heaviest $s$-only isotope, has been a topic of debate because state-of-the-art stellar models appeared to systematically underestimate its solar abundance. Besides the impact of uncertainties from stellar models and galactic chemical evolution simulations, this discrepancy was further obscured by rather divergent theoretical estimates for the neutron capture cross section of its radioactive precursor in the neutron-capture flow, ${}^{204}\mathrm{Tl}$( $t_{1/2}=3.78\mathrm{yr}$), and by the lack of experimental data on this reaction. We present the first ever neutron capture measurement on ${}^{204}\mathrm{Tl}$, conducted at the CERN neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF, employing a sample of only 9 mg of ${}^{204}\mathrm{Tl}$produced at the Institute Laue Langevin high flux reactor. By complementing our new results with semiempirical calculations we obtained, at the $s$-process temperatures of $kT\approx 8\mathrm{keV}$and $kT\approx 30\mathrm{keV}$, Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) of 580(168) mb and 260(90) mb, respectively. These figures are about 3% lower and 20% higher than the corresponding values widely used in astrophysical calculations, which were based only on theoretical calculations. By using the new ${}^{204}\mathrm{Tl}$MACS, the uncertainty arising from the ${}^{204}\mathrm{Tl}(\mathrm{n},\gamma )$cross section on the $s$-process abundance of ${}^{204}\mathrm{Pb}$has been reduced from $\sim 30\%$down to $+8\%/-6\%$, and the $s$-process calculations are in agreement with the latest solar system abundance of ${}^{204}\mathrm{Pb}$reported by K. Lodders in 2021. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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5. Systematic study of flow vector fluctuations in $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV Pb-Pb collisions

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.109.065202  

   Acharya, S; Adamová, D; Agarwal, A; Aglieri_Rinella, G; Aglietta, L; Agnello, M; Agrawal, N; Ahammed, Z; Ahmad, S; Ahn, S U; et al (June 2024, Physical Review C)

   Measurements of the $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations in Pb–Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$using azimuthal correlations with the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. A four-particle correlation approach [ALICE Collaboration, ] is used to quantify the effects of flow angle and magnitude fluctuations separately. This paper extends previous studies to additional centrality intervals and provides measurements of the $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent flow vector fluctuations at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$with two-particle correlations. Significant $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent fluctuations of the ${\vec{V}}_2$flow vector in Pb–Pb collisions are found across different centrality ranges, with the largest fluctuations of up to $\sim 15\%$being present in the 5% most central collisions. In parallel, no evidence of significant $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent fluctuations of ${\vec{V}}_3$or ${\vec{V}}_4$is found. Additionally, evidence of flow angle and magnitude fluctuations is observed with more than $5\sigma$significance in central collisions. These observations in $\text{Pb–Pb}$collisions indicate where the classical picture of hydrodynamic modeling with a common symmetry plane breaks down. This has implications for hard probes at high $p_{\mathrm{T}}$, which might be biased by $p_{\mathrm{T}}$-dependent flow angle fluctuations of at least 23% in central collisions. Given the presented results, existing theoretical models should be reexamined to improve our understanding of initial conditions, quark–gluon plasma properties, and the dynamic evolution of the created system. ©2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2024CERN 

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