Processes of hypernuclei formation in relativistic ion collisions

A S Botvina ,Marcus Bleicher

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201817113001

Abstract

The study of hypernuclei in relativistic ion collisions open new opportunities for nuclear and particle physics. The main processes leading to the production of hypernuclei in these reactions are the disintegration of large excited hyper-residues (target- and projectile-like), and the coalescence of hyperons with other baryons into light clusters. We use the transport, coalescence and statistical models to describe the whole reaction, and demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach: These reactions lead to the abundant production of multi-strange nuclei and new hypernuclear states. A broad distribution of predicted hypernuclei in masses and isospin allows for investigating properties of exotic hypernuclei, as well as the hypermatter both at high and low temperatures. There is a saturation of the hypernuclei production at high energies, therefore, the optimal way to pursue this experimental research is to use the accelerator facilities of intermediate energies, like FAIR (Darmstadt) and NICA (Dubna).

Highlights

Hypernuclei are formed when hyperons (Λ, Σ, Ξ, Ω) produced in high-energy interactions are captured by nuclei
The hypernuclear physics is still focused on spectroscopic information and is dominated by a quite limited set of reactions induced by hadrons and leptons [1, 2]
Within these models one can predict the production of all kind of hypernuclei which are not always possible to obtain in traditional hyper-nuclear studies [1, 2]

Summary

Introduction

Hypernuclei are formed when hyperons (Λ, Σ, Ξ, Ω) produced in high-energy interactions are captured by nuclei. The hypernuclear physics is still focused on spectroscopic information and is dominated by a quite limited set of reactions induced by hadrons and leptons [1, 2]. Many experimental collaborations (e.g., STAR at RHIC [3]; ALICE at LHC [4]; HypHI at GSI [5], FOPI/CBM [6], and Super-FRS/NUSTAR at FAIR [7]; BM@N and MPD at NICA [8]) have started or plan to investigate hypernuclei and their properties in reactions induced by relativistic nucleons and ions. The limits in isospin space, particle unstable states, multiple strange nuclei and precision lifetime measurements are unique topics of these fragmentation reactions. The investigation of hypernuclei is one of the rapidly progressing fields of nuclear physics, as they provide complementary methods to improve traditional nuclear studies and open new horizons for studying particle physics and nuclear astrophysics

Modelling production of hypernuclei

Yields of hypernuclei

Conclusion and perspectives