Eur. Phys. J. A (2022) 58: 236
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-022-00867-8

Editorial

Topical collection on light clusters in nuclei and nuclear matter: nuclear structure and decay, heavy-ion collisions, and astrophysics

¹ Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Wrocław, 50-204, Wrocław, Poland
² Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University, 567-0047, Osaka, Japan
³ Department of Physics, Hokkaido University, 060-0810, Sapporo, Japan
⁴ Nuclear Reaction Data Centre, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, 060-0810, Sapporo, Japan
⁵ Institut für Physik, Universität Rostock, 18051, Rostock, Germany
⁶ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS-IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405, Orsay, France
⁷ Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPMMC, 38000, Grenoble, France

^a david.blaschke@gmail.com

Abstract

Recent progress to treat clustering in nuclear systems has an impact to different branches of nuclear theory. Numerical methods as well as many-body theory (Green-function methods) have been worked out to describe few-body clusters in a nuclear environment where medium effects, in particular the antisymmetrization of the wave function (Pauli blocking) are of relevance. Nuclear structure (Hoyle – like states), nuclear reactions, and consequences for astrophysics (neutron stars, supernova explosions) are emerging applications. The main topics were (1) Cluster models, structure of light nuclei, cluster quantum phase transition; (2) Reaction theory, $\alpha$-decay of heavy and superheavy nuclei; (3) Clustering in nuclear matter and consequences for thermodynamic properties (4) Heavy-ion collisions and clustering in nonequilibrium systems, transport codes; (5) Astrophysical consequences of clustering.