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1. Distinguishing Charged Lepton Flavor Violation Scenarios with Inelastic $\mu \to e$ Conversion

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.261801  

   Haxton, W C; Rule, Evan (December 2024, Physical Review Letters)

   The Mu2e and COMET experiments are expected to improve existing limits on charged lepton flavor violation (CLFV) by roughly 4 orders of magnitude. $\mu \to e$conversion experiments are typically optimized for electrons produced without nuclear excitation, as this maximizes the electron energy and minimizes backgrounds from the free decay of the muon. Here we argue that Mu2e and COMET will be able to extract additional constraints on CLFV from inelastic $\mu \to e$conversion, given the ${}^{27}\mathrm{Al}$target they have chosen and backgrounds they anticipate. We describe CLFV scenarios in which inelastic CLFV can induce measurable distortions in the near-endpoint spectrum of conversion electrons, including cases where certain contributing operators cannot be probed in elastic $\mu \to e$conversion. We extend the nonrelativistic EFT treatment of elastic $\mu \to e$conversion to include the new nuclear operators needed for the inelastic process, evaluate the associated nuclear response functions, and describe several new-physics scenarios where the inelastic process can provide additional information on CLFV. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

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2. 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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3. Strength measurements of the $E_{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{lab}}=647$ and 1842 keV resonances in the ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}(p,\gamma ){}^{41}\mathrm{Sc}$ reaction and their relevance in novae nucleosynthesis

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.111.025804  

   Sidhu, R S; deBoer, R J; Görres, J; Wiescher, M; Koros, J; Manukyan, K; Matney, M; McDonaugh, J; Picciotto, V; Sanchez, A T; et al (February 2025, Physical Review C)

   Here we report on the direct measurement of the resonance strengths of the $E_{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{lab}}=647\mathrm{keV}$and 1842 keV resonances in the ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}(p,\gamma ){}^{41}\mathrm{Sc}$reaction. At novae temperatures, $0.2<T_9<0.7$, the ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}(p,\gamma ){}^{41}\mathrm{Sc}$reaction is governed by the low energy resonance at $E_{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{lab}}=647\mathrm{keV}$, whereas the $E_{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{lab}}=1842\mathrm{keV}$resonance serves as a normalization standard for nuclear reaction experiments within the astrophysically relevant energy range. For the $E_{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{lab}}=647\mathrm{keV}$resonance, we obtain a resonance strength $\omega \gamma =(2.51\pm 0.{09}_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.{22}_{\mathrm{syst}})\mathrm{meV}$, with an uncertainty a factor of 2.5 smaller than the previous direct measurement value. For the $E_{\mathrm{R}}^{\mathrm{lab}}=1842\mathrm{keV}$resonance, we obtain a resonance strength $\omega \gamma =(0.148\pm 0.{006}_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.{013}_{\mathrm{syst}})\mathrm{eV}$, which is consistent with previous studies but deviates by $2\sigma$from the most recent measurement. Our results suggest ${}^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$to be a strong waiting point in the nucleosynthesis path of oxygen-neon (ONe) novae. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

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4. 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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5. Proton emission in ultraperipheral Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.111.054906  

   Acharya, S; Agarwal, A; Aglieri_Rinella, G; Aglietta, L; Agnello, M; Agrawal, N; Ahammed, Z; Ahmad, S; Ahn, S U; Ahuja, I; et al (May 2025, Physical Review C)

   The first measurements of proton emission accompanied by neutron emission in the electromagnetic dissociation (EMD) of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$nuclei in the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. The EMD protons and neutrons emitted at very forward rapidities are detected by the proton and neutron zero degree calorimeters of the ALICE experiment. The emission cross sections of zero, one, two, and three protons accompanied by at least one neutron were measured in ultraperipheral ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}\text{−}{}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$. The 0p and 3p cross sections are described by the RELDIS model within their measurement uncertainties, while the 1p and 2p cross sections are underestimated by the model by 17–25%. According to this model, these 0p, 1p, 2p, and 3p cross sections are associated, respectively, with the production of various isotopes of Pb, Tl, Hg, and Au in the EMD of ${}^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$. The cross sections of the emission of a single proton accompanied by the emission of one, two, or three neutrons in EMD were also measured. The data are significantly overestimated by the RELDIS model, which predicts that the (1p,1n), (1p,2n), and (1p,3n) cross sections are very similar to the cross sections for the production of the thallium isotopes ${}^{206,205,204}\mathrm{Tl}$. ©2025 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration2025CERN 

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