A double-kaonic nuclear system, K − K − pp, to be formed in pp collisions

Abstract

Based on the idea that the simplest double-\(\bar{K}\) nuclear cluster, K − K − pp, can be produced in the p + p → K + + K + + Λ* + Λ* →K + + K + + K − K − pp reaction, where Λ* = Λ(1405) is a quasi-bound state K − p, we have calculated the differential cross sections for this process and found out that a peak of K − K − pp dominates in the mass spectrum when the cluster is a deeply bound and dense system, helped by a very large momentum transfer Q ∼ 1.8 MeV/c. The appropriate incident proton energy for this process is around 7 GeV. We found that, the deeper and denser the bound system is, the larger its population becomes. The K −-K − repulsion inside K − K − pp is shown to give only a small change on the bound-state structure and the cross section.