Low-energy QCD is still lacking experimental results, fundamental for reaching a good understanding of the strangeness sector. The information provided by the low energy kaon- nucleon/nuclei ...interaction is accessible through the study of kaonic atoms and kaonic nuclear processes. The lightest atomic systems, namely the kaonic hydrogen and the kaonic deuterium, provide the isospin dependent kaon-nucleon scattering lengths by measuring the X-rays emitted during their de-excitation to the 1s level. The most precise kaonic hydrogen measurement to date, together with an exploratory measurement of kaonic deuterium and of upper-level transitions in kaonic helium 3 and kaonic helium 4 were carried out at the DAΦNE collider by the SIDDHARTA collaboration. Presently, a significantly upgraded setup developped by the SIDDHARTA-2 collaboration is ready to perform a precise measurement of kaonic deuterium and, afterwards, of heavier exotic atoms. In parallel, the kaon-nuclei interaction at momenta below 130 MeV/c is studied by the AMADEUS collaboration, using the KLOE detector and a dedicated setup inserted in the central region, near the interaction point. Preliminary results of the study of charged antikaons interacting with nuclei are shown, including an analysis of the controversial Λ(1405).
The DAΦNE electron-positron collider at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati of INFN, Italy has made available a unique quality low-energy negatively charged kaons “beam”, which is used to unveil the ...secrets of the kaon-nucleon/nuclei interactions at low energies by the SIDDHARTA-2 and AMADEUS experiments. SIDDHARTA has already performed unprecedented precision measurements of kaonic atoms, and is being presently upgraded, as SIDDHARTA-2, to approach new frontiers. The AMADEUS experiment plans to perform in the coming years precision measurements on kaon-nuclei interactions at low-energies, to study the possible formation of kaonic nuclei, of the Λ(1405) and of many other processes involving strangeness.
X-ray spectroscopy of light kaonic atoms is a unique tool to provide precise information on the fundamental K̄N interaction at the low-energy limit and the in-medium nuclear interaction of K−. The ...future experiments of kaonic deuterium strong-interaction shift and width (SIDDHARTA-2 and J-PARC E57) can extract the isospin dependent K−N interaction at threshold. The high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of kaonic helium with microcalorimeters (J-PARC E62) has the possibility to solve the long-standing potential-strength problem of the attractive K−-nucleus interaction. Here, the recent experimental results and the future projects of X-ray spectroscopy of light kaonic atoms are presented.
The X-ray measurements of kaonic atoms play an important role for understanding the low-energy QCD in the strangeness sector. The SIDDHARTA experiment studied the X-ray transitions of 4 light kaonic ...atoms (H, D, super(3)He, and super(4)He) using the DAFNE electron-positron collider at LNF (Italy). Most precise values of the shift and width of the kaonic hydrogen 1s state were determined, which have been now used as fundamental information for the low-energy K super(-)p interaction in theoretical studies. An upper limit of the X-ray yield of kaonic deuterium was derived, important for future K super(-)d experiments. The shifts and widths of the kaonic super(3)He and super(4)He 2p states were obtained, confirming the end of the "kaonic helium puzzle". In this contribution also the plans for new experiments of kaonic deuterium are being presented.
The AMADEUS experiment deals with the investigation of the low-energy kaon-nuclei hadronic interaction at the DAPhiNE collider at LNF-INFN, fundamental to respond to longstanding open questions in ...the non-perturbative QCD in the strangeness sector. One of the most interesting aspects is to understand how hadron masses and interactions change in the nuclear environment. The antikaon-nucleon potential is investigated searching for signals from possible bound kaonic clusters, which would imply a strongly attractive antikaon-nucleon potential. AMADEUS step 0 consists in the analysis of 2004/2005 KLOE data, exploring K- absorptions in H, super(4)He, super(9)Be and super(12)C present in setup materials. The status of the various preliminary analyses is presented, together with future perspectives.
The recent interest in a light gauge boson in the framework of an extra U(1) symmetry motivates searches in the mass range below 1 GeV. We present a search for such a particle, the dark photon, in ...e+e−→Uγ, U→π+π− based on 28 million e+e−→π+π−γ events collected at DAΦNE by the KLOE experiment. The π+π− production by initial-state radiation compensates for a loss of sensitivity of previous KLOE U→e+e−, μ+μ− searches due to the small branching ratios in the ρ–ω resonance region. We found no evidence for a signal and set a limit at 90% CL on the mixing strength between the photon and the dark photon, ε2, in the U mass range between 527 and 987MeV. Above 700 MeV this new limit is more stringent than previous ones.
A
bstract
The quantum interference between the decays of entangled neutral kaons is studied in the process
ϕ
→ K
S
K
L
→
π
+
π
−
π
+
π
−
, which exhibits the characteristic Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen ...correlations that prevent both kaons to decay into
π
+
π
−
at the same time. This constitutes a very powerful tool for testing at the utmost precision the quantum coherence of the entangled kaon pair state, and to search for tiny decoherence and
CPT
violation effects, which may be justified in a quantum gravity framework.
The analysed data sample was collected with the KLOE detector at DAΦNE, the Frascati
ϕ
-factory, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 1.7 fb
−
1
, i.e. to about 1
.
7 × 10
9
ϕ
→ K
S
K
L
decays produced. From the fit of the observed ∆
t
distribution, being ∆
t
the difference of the kaon decay times, the decoherence and
CPT
violation parameters of various phenomenological models are measured with a largely improved accuracy with respect to previous analyses.
The results are consistent with no deviation from quantum mechanics and
CPT
symmetry, while for some parameters the precision reaches the interesting level at which — in the most optimistic scenarios — quantum gravity effects might show up. They provide the most stringent limits up to date on the considered models.
The AMADEUS experiment aims to perform dedicated precision studies in the sector of low-energy kaon-nuclei interaction at the DAΦNE collider at LNF-INFN. In particular, the experiment plans to ...perform measurements of the debated deeply bound kaonic nuclear states, to deepen our knowledge about the controversial state Λ(1405) and to measure the low energy cross section of K− on light nuclei. AMADEUS will exploit the process of stopped kaons in cryogenic gaseous targets, measuring both charged and neutral particles produced in a 4π geometry, so performing a full study of the various interaction channels. Taking advantage of the fact that the KLOE drift chamber is mainly filled with 4He (90% helium 10% isobutane) according to Monte Carlo simulations about 0.1% of kaons from DAΦNE should stop in the inner volume of the drift chamber; the analysis of the existing KLOE data (run from 2002 to 2005) is presently going on, searching for hadronic interactions of K− in such an active target. The AMADEUS physics program and preliminary results from the analysis of KLOE data will be discussed.
The
system at rest plays a key role for the understanding of strong interaction of hadrons with strangeness involved. The experiment SIDDHARTA used X-ray spectroscopy of kaonic atoms to measure the ...strong interaction induced shift and width of the ground state. It was the first experiment on kaonic He3 and deuterium ever, kaonic hydrogen was measured with improved precision resulting in
eV and
eV. Additionally a scheme for an improved future experiment on kaonic deuterium is introduced in this contribution.
Kaonic hydrogen atoms provide a unique laboratory to probe the kaon–nucleon strong interaction at the energy threshold, allowing an investigation of the interplay between spontaneous and explicit ...chiral symmetry breaking in low-energy QCD. The SIDDHARTA Collaboration has measured the K-series X rays of kaonic hydrogen atoms at the DAΦNE electron–positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, and has determined the most precise values of the strong-interaction induced shift and width of the 1s atomic energy level. This result provides vital constraints on the theoretical description of the low-energy K¯N interaction.
PDF
