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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04794 |
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| _version_ | 1866910011757690880 |
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| author | Azizi, A. Bertulani, C. A. Davila, C. |
| author_facet | Azizi, A. Bertulani, C. A. Davila, C. |
| contents | Neutron-skin thicknesses provide a sensitive probe of the isovector sector of the nuclear equation of state and its density dependence, commonly characterized by the symmetry-energy slope parameter L. A wide variety of experimental and observational methods have been used to extract neutron skins, ranging from hadronic and electromagnetic probes of finite nuclei to inferences from neutron-star observations. Each approach carries distinct theoretical and systematic uncertainties, complicating global interpretations and obscuring genuine physical trends. In this work we present a hierarchical Bayesian framework for the statistically consistent synthesis of heterogeneous neutron-skin constraints. The neutron-skin thickness is modeled as a smooth latent function of isospin asymmetry and nuclear size, while method-dependent bias parameters and intrinsic nuisance widths are introduced to account for unmodeled experimental and theoretical systematics. Focusing on the tin isotopes, we infer probabilistic neutron-skin trends from 100Sn to 140Sn, finding minimal uncertainties near stability and increasing uncertainties toward the proton-rich and neutron-rich extremes. We assess the consistency of nuclear energy-density functionals and obtain conditional constraints on the symmetry-energy parameters. The resulting posterior exhibits a pronounced compression of the symmetry-energy slope parameter L, reflecting the dominant sensitivity of neutron skins to sub-saturation symmetry pressure. We demonstrate that our hierarchical Bayesian framework provides robust and transparent constraints on the sub-saturation isovector sector of the nuclear equation of state. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_04794 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis of Neutron-Skin Thicknesses and Implications for the Symmetry-Energy Slope Azizi, A. Bertulani, C. A. Davila, C. Nuclear Theory Neutron-skin thicknesses provide a sensitive probe of the isovector sector of the nuclear equation of state and its density dependence, commonly characterized by the symmetry-energy slope parameter L. A wide variety of experimental and observational methods have been used to extract neutron skins, ranging from hadronic and electromagnetic probes of finite nuclei to inferences from neutron-star observations. Each approach carries distinct theoretical and systematic uncertainties, complicating global interpretations and obscuring genuine physical trends. In this work we present a hierarchical Bayesian framework for the statistically consistent synthesis of heterogeneous neutron-skin constraints. The neutron-skin thickness is modeled as a smooth latent function of isospin asymmetry and nuclear size, while method-dependent bias parameters and intrinsic nuisance widths are introduced to account for unmodeled experimental and theoretical systematics. Focusing on the tin isotopes, we infer probabilistic neutron-skin trends from 100Sn to 140Sn, finding minimal uncertainties near stability and increasing uncertainties toward the proton-rich and neutron-rich extremes. We assess the consistency of nuclear energy-density functionals and obtain conditional constraints on the symmetry-energy parameters. The resulting posterior exhibits a pronounced compression of the symmetry-energy slope parameter L, reflecting the dominant sensitivity of neutron skins to sub-saturation symmetry pressure. We demonstrate that our hierarchical Bayesian framework provides robust and transparent constraints on the sub-saturation isovector sector of the nuclear equation of state. |
| title | A Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis of Neutron-Skin Thicknesses and Implications for the Symmetry-Energy Slope |
| topic | Nuclear Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04794 |