The International Workshop SDANCA-26 will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria between the 9-th (arrival day) and 13-th (departure day) of September 2026. The Workshop is organized by a research group of scientists from the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (INRNE) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and the Faculty of Physics at Sofia University "St. Kl. Ohridski". It appears as the sixth issue after SDANCA-15, -17, -19, -21 and 23 held in the period 2015 - 2023.

Aim: The aim of the Workshop is to gather researchers with interests in the field of nuclear structure and related areas giving a foundation for discussion of actual problems and new ideas, with a focus on shape dynamics and related phenomena. It is expected to outline directions of common interest and inspire further joint theoretical and experimental works on different aspects of the shape-dynamics problem in atomic nuclei and other physical systems. We believe this meeting can strengthen the existing collaborations and initiate new activities on the topic.

Main topics:

Collective and microscopic theories of nuclear deformation;

Shapes, shells and symmetries - geometric and algebraic aspects;

Shape coexistence and shape-phase transition phenomena;

Shapes and dynamics at the limits of stability;

Masses and deformation, isomers and cluster phenomena;

New data and advanced experimental techniques;

Related topics in astrophysics, fundamental constants, dark matter,
  atomic and laser physics.

Program: The program will start in the morning of 10-th of September (Thursday) and will end in the evening of 12-th of September (Saturday) 2026. Depending on the number of participants we plan to schedule 20+5 min talks. A poster session may be organized. As in the previous issues we will try to provide enough time for common discussions.

Publication: We are in communication with Physica Scripta considering the possibility to organize a focus issue with articles based on SDANCA-26 talks. Information about the final decision about the issue will be distributed in due time.

Venue and Accommodation The Workshop venue and accommodation are arranged in the hotel complex Park-Hotel Moskva in Sofia (25 Nezabravka Str, Sofia).

Fee and arrangements: The Workshop fee is 700 EUR for regular participants and 500 EUR for students and accompanying persons. It covers 4 nights accommodation with breakfast, lunch and dinner (one of which official) for the days 10-12 Sep., coffee breaks and working materials. The fee has to be paid by the 15-th of July 2026 through a bank transfer to account given at Accommodation & Fee.
NOTE: the hotel reservations and payments are managed by the organizers. Any e-mail or telephone call claiming arrangement by company, agency, etc. would be malicious.

Access from the Airport: The conference venue is reached from Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport by metro taken to Joliot Curie station. The ticket price is 0.80 EUR. Alternatively a taxi can be used (only the company at the official taxi station is recommended).

Visa: Invitation letters for participants who need to apply for a visa can be sent by the Organizers under request to the contact e-mail below.

Registration for participation: Colleagues who wish to participate in the Workshop are kindly invited to fill in the registration form and notify us by e-mail by 30-th of June as well as submit their abstracts (up to 1 page in LaTeX, Template here) to the contact e-mail by 31-st of July 2026.

Contact: Nikolay Minkov
(Chair of the Organizing Committee)
E-mail 1: Nikolay.Minkov@mpi-hd.mpg.de
E-mail 2: nminkov@inrne.bas.bg (in case of a problem with E-mail 1)