Formation spectra of charmed meson–nucleus systems using an antiproton beam

Abstract

We investigate the structure and formation of charmed meson--nucleus systems, with the aim of understanding the charmed meson--nucleon interactions and the properties of the charmed mesons in the nuclear medium. The $\bar{D}$ mesic nuclei are of special interest, since they have tiny decay widths due to the absence of strong decays for the $\bar{D} N$ pair. Employing an effective model for the $\bar{D} N$ and $D N$ interactions and solving the Klein--Gordon equation for $\bar{D}$ and $D$ in finite nuclei, we find that the $D^{-}$-${}^{11}\rm{B}$ system has $1 s$ and $2p$ mesic nuclear states and that the $D^{0}$-${}^{11}\rm{B}$ system binds in a $1s$ state. In view of the forthcoming experiments by the PANDA and CBM Collaborations at the future FAIR facility and the J-PARC upgrade, we calculate the formation spectra of the $[D^{-}$-${}^{11}\rm{B}]$ and $[D^{0}$-${}^{11}\rm{B}]$ mesic nuclei for an antiproton beam on a ${}^{12} \rm{C}$ target. Our results suggest that it is possible to observe the $2 p$ $D^{-}$ mesic nuclear state with an appropriate experimental setup.