Kaonic Deuterium Research Articles

X-ray Detectors for Kaonic Atoms Research at DAΦNE

This article presents the kaonic atom studies performed at the INFN National Laboratory of Frascati (Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati dell’INFN, LNF-INFN) since the opening of this field of research at the DA Φ NE collider in early 2000. Significant achievements have been obtained by the DA Φ NE Exotic Atom Research (DEAR) and Silicon Drift Detector for Hadronic Atom Research by Timing Applications (SIDDHARTA) experiments on kaonic hydrogen, which have required the development of novel X-ray detectors. The 2019 installation of the new SIDDHARTA-2 experiment to measure kaonic deuterium for the first time has been made possible by further technological advances in X-ray detection.

Spectroscopy of kaonic atoms at DAFNE and J-PARC

The interaction of antikaons (K−) with nucleons and nuclei in the low-energy regime represents a very active research field in hadron physics. A unique and rather direct experimental access to the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths is provided by precision X-ray spectroscopy of transitions in low-lying states in the lightest kaonic atoms (i.e. kaonic hydrogen and deuterium). In the SIDDHARTA experiment at the electron-positron collider DAFNE of LNFINFN we measured the most precise values of the strong interaction observables in conic hydrogen. The strong interaction on the 1s ground state of the electromagnetically bound K-p atom causes an energy shift and broadening of the 1s state. SIDDHARTA will extend the spectroscopy to kaonic deuterium to get access to the antikaon-neutron interaction and thus the isospin dependent scattering lengths. At J-PARC a kaon beam is used in a complementary experiment with a different setup for spectroscopy of kaonic deuterium atoms. The talk will give an overview of the of the upcoming experiments SIDDHARTA and the complementary experiment at J-PARC.Furthermore, the implications of the experiments for the theory of low-energy strong interaction with strangeness will be discussed.

Experiments with low-energy kaons at the DAΦNE Collider

The investigations of light kaonic atoms offer the unique opportunity to perform experiments equivalent to scattering at vanishing relative energies, being their atomic binding energies in the keV range. This allows the determination of the hadron-nucleus interaction at threshold without the need of an extrapolation to zero relative energy. The energy shift and broadening of the lowest-lying states of such atoms, induced by the kaon-nucleus strong interaction, can be determined with high precision from atomic X-ray spectroscopy. The lightest atomic systems, kaonic hydrogen and kaonic deuterium, deliver the isospin-dependent kaon-nucleon scattering lengths. The most precise kaonic hydrogen measurement to date, together with an exploratory measurement of kaonic deuterium, were carried out by the SIDDHARTA collaboration at the DAΦNE electron-positron collider of LNF-INFN. The measurement of kaonic deuterium will be realized in the near future by SIDDHARTA-2, a major upgrade of SIDDHARTA. A correlated study of the kaon-nuclei interaction at momenta below 130 MeV/c is carried out by the AMADEUS collaboration, using the KLOE detector and dedicated targets inserted near the collider interaction point. In this paper an overview of the main results obtained by SIDDHARTA together with the future plans, the SIDDHARTA-2 experiment and with the preliminary results of the study of charged antikaons interacting with nuclei by the AMADEUS collaboration, are shown.

Kaonic deuterium from realistic antikaon-nucleon interaction

We present precise three-body calculations for the spectrum of kaonic deuterium with a realistic antikaon-nucleon interaction. Thanks to the precise measurement of kaonic hydrogen, it is now possible to construct realistic $\bar KN$ interactions which reproduce the whole set of experimental data in the threshold region. Employing such realistic interactions, the energy of the three-body system of kaonic deuterium is determined with the accuracy of eV, by expanding its wave function with a large number of correlated Gaussian basis functions. The level shift and width of the 1S state are found to be 670 eV and 1016 eV, respectively. The improved Deser formulas work reasonably well to estimate the shift and width of kaonic hydrogen, but their application to kaonic deuterium does not give an accurate estimation. It is shown that the result is sensitive to the I = 1 component of the $\bar KN$ interaction, which will be further constrained in future experiments.

A New Silicon Drift Detector System for Kaonic Atom Measurements

The kaonic deuterium measurement at J-PARC and DAΦNE will provide a piece of information still missing to the antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold, providing valuable information to answer one of the most fundamental problems in hadron physics today - to the yet unsolved puzzle of how the hadron mass is generated. For this a new X-ray detector system has been developed to measure the shift and width of the 2p → 1s transition of kaonic deuterium with a precision of 60 eV and 140 eV, respectively.

A charged particle veto detector for kaonic deuterium measurements at DAΦNE

The antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold provides crucial information on the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking in low-energy QCD. In this context, the importance of kaonic deuterium x-ray spectroscopy has been well recognized, but no experimental results have yet been obtained due to the difficulty of the measurement. To measure the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium 1s state with an accuracy of 30 eV and 75 eV, respectively, an apparatus is under construction at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. A detailed Monte Carlo simulation has shown that an increase of the signal to background ratio by a factor of ten will be required compared to the successfully performed kaonic hydrogen measurement (SIDDHARTA). Three pillars are essential for the newly developed experimental apparatus: a large area x-ray detector system (consisting of Silicon Drift Detectors), a lightweight cryogenic target system and a veto system, consisting of an outer veto detector (Veto-1) for active shielding and an inner veto detector (Veto-2) for charged particle suppression. For both veto systems, an excellent time resolution is required to distinguish kaons stopping in gas from direct kaon stops in the entrance window or side wall of the target. First test measurements on the Veto-2 system were performed. An average time resolution of (54 ± 2) ps and detection efficiencies of ~ 99 % were achieved.

The kaonic atoms research program at DAΦNE: overview and perspectives

The interaction of antikaons with nucleons and nuclei in the low-energy regime represents an active research field in hadron physics with still many important open questions. The investigation of light kaonic atoms is, in this context, a unique tool to obtain precise information on this interaction. The energy shift and broadening of the lowest-lying states of such atoms, induced by the kaon-nucleus strong interaction, can be determined with high precision from atomic X-ray spectroscopy. This experimental method provides unique information to understand the low energy kaon-nucleus interaction at threshold. The lightest atomic systems, kaonic hydrogen and kaonic deuterium, deliver the isospin-dependent kaon-nucleon scattering lengths. The most precise kaonic hydrogen measurement to date, together with an exploratory measurement of kaonic deuterium, were carried out by the SIDDHARTA collaboration at the DAΦNE electron-positron collider of LNF-INFN, by combining the excellent quality kaon beam delivered by the collider with new experimental techniques, as fast and precise X-ray detectors: Silicon Drift Detectors. The measurement of kaonic deuterium will be realized in the near future by SIDDHARTA-2, a major upgrade of SIDDHARTA. In this paper an overview of the main results obtained by SIDDHARTA together with the future plans, are given.

The kaonic atoms research program at DAΦNE: from SIDDHARTA to SIDDHARTA-2

The interaction of antikaons with nucleons and nuclei in the low-energy regime represents an active research field in hadron physics with still many important open questions. The investigation of light kaonic atoms, in which one electron is replaced by a negatively charged kaon, is a unique tool to provide precise information on this interaction; the energy shift and the broadening of the low-lying states of such atoms, induced by the kaon-nucleus hadronic interaction, can be determined with high precision from the atomic X-ray spectroscopy, and this experimental method provides unique information to understand the low energy kaon-nucleus interaction at the production threshold. The lightest atomic systems, like the kaonic hydrogen and the kaonic deuterium deliver, in a model-independent way, the isospin-dependent kaon-nucleon scattering lengths. The most precise kaonic hydrogen measurement to-date, together with an exploratory measurement of kaonic deuterium, were carried out in 2009 by the SIDDHARTA collaboration at the DAΦNE electron-positron collider of LNF-INFN, combining the excellent quality kaon beam delivered by the collider with new experimental techniques, as fast and very precise X-ray detectors, like the Silicon Drift Detectors. The SIDDHARTA results triggered new theoretical work, which achieved major progress in the understanding of the low-energy strong interaction with strangeness reflected by the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths calculated with the antikaon-proton amplitudes constrained by the SIDDHARTA data. The most important open question is the experimental determination of the hadronic energy shift and width of kaonic deuterium; presently, a major upgrade of the setup, SIDDHARTA-2, is being realized to reach this goal. In this paper, the results obtained in 2009 and the proposed SIDDHARTA-2 upgrades are presented.

A New Silicon Drift Detector For Kaonic Deuterium Measurements: On behalf of the E57 collaboration at J-PARC

The interaction of antikaons with nucleons and nuclei in the lowenergy regime is a very active research field in hadron physics. Specially, the antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold provides crucial information on the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking in low-energy QCD and touching one of the fundamental problems in hadron physic today - the still unsolved question of how hadron masses are generated. To study this problem, we have developed a new X–ray detector system and constructed an experimental apparatus to measure the kaonic deuterium 1s ground state shift and width with an accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV, respectively.

Kaonic deuterium and low-energy antikaon-nucleon interaction

A new evaluation of the 1s level shift and width of kaonic deuterium is presented based on an accurate K̅ NN three-body calculation, using as input a realistic antikaon-nucleon interaction constrained by the SIDDHARTA kaonic hydrogen data. The three-body Schrödinger equation is solved with a superposition of a large number of correlated Gaussian basis functions extending over distance scales up to several hundred fm. The resulting energy shift and width of the kaonic deuterium 1s level are △E ≃ 0:67 keV and Γ ≃ 1.02 keV, with estimated uncertainties at the 10 % level.

Constraining the K¯N interaction from the 1S level shift of kaonic deuterium

Motivated by the precise measurement of the 1S level shift of kaonic hydrogen, we perform accurate three-body calculations for the spectrum of kaonic deuterium using a realistic antikaon-nucleon (K¯N) interaction. In order to describe both short- and long-range behaviors of the kaonic atomic states, we solve the three-body Schrodinger equation with a superposition of a large number of correlated Gaussian basis functions covering distances up to several hundreds of fm. Transition energies between 1S,2P, and 2S states are determined with high precision. The complex energy shift of the 1S level of kaonic deuterium is found to be ΔE−iΓ/2=(670−i508) eV. The sensitivity of this level shift with respect to the isospin I=1 component of the K¯N interaction is examined. It is pointed out that an experimental determination of the kaonic deuterium level shift within an uncertainty of 25% will provide a constraint for the I=1 component of the K¯N interaction significantly stronger than that from kaonic hydrogen.

Different Properties of the $$\varvec{\bar{K}NN}$$ K ¯ N N and $$\varvec{\bar{K}\bar{K}N}$$ K ¯ K ¯ N Systems

A series of exact or accurate three-body calculations of different properties of the \(\bar{K}NN\) and \(\bar{K}\bar{K}N\) systems is described. In particular, binding energies and widths of the quasi-bound states in the systems were calculated. Near-threshold elastic \(K^- d\) amplitudes were also found together with the 1s level shift and width of kaonic deuterium. Different dependences of the three-body results on two-body inputs are discussed.

Three-body calculation of the1slevel shift in kaonic deuterium with realisticK¯Npotentials

The $1s$ level shift in kaonic deuterium was calculated using Coulomb Sturmian expansion of Faddeev equations. The convergence of the method yields an $\sim\ 1\ eV$ accuracy for the level shifts. We used three different, realistic, multichannel $\bar{K}N$ interactions reproducing all known experimental two-body $\bar{K}N$ data. The different results suggest, that the level shift should be in the range $\Delta E\sim(800\pm30)-(480\pm20){\rm i}\ \ eV$. The (almost) exact level shifts were compared with values, given by the commonly used approximations.

Kaonic atoms and strangeness in nuclei: SIDDHARTA-2 and AMADEUS experiments

The dynamics of the strong interaction processes in the non-perturbative regime is currently approached by lattice calculations and effective field theories (ChPT), still lacking several experimental results, fundamental for a good understanding of the strangeness sector. Among these, the information provided by the low-energy kaon nucleon/nuclei interaction, accessible through the study of kaonic atoms and kaonic nuclear processes, plays a key-role. The lightest atomic systems, the kaonic hydrogen and the kaonic deuterium, deliver, in a model-independent way, the isospin-dependent kaon-nucleon scattering lengths, through the X- ray spectroscopy of the exotic atoms de-exciting to the fundamental level. The most precise kaonic hydrogen measurement to-date, together with an exploratory measurement of kaonic deuterium, were carried out in 2009 at the DAΦNE collider, by the SIDDHARTA collaboration. Nowadays, an upgraded setup was built, for a precise measurement of kaonic deuterium and, eventually, of heavier exotic atoms. A correlated study of the kaon-nuclei interaction at momenta below 130 MeV/c is carried out by the AMADEUS collaboration, using the KLOE detector and dedicated targets inserted near the collider interaction point. Preliminary results of the study of charged antikaons interacting with nuclei are shown, including a discussion of the still controversial Λ(1405).

Strong interaction studies with kaonic atoms

The strong interaction of antikaons with nucleons and nuclei in the low-energy regime represents an active research field connected intrinsically with few-body physics. There are important open questions like the question of antikaon nuclear bound states. A unique and rather direct experimental access to the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths is provided by precision X-ray spectroscopy of transitions in low-lying states of light kaonic atoms like kaonic hydrogen isotopes. In the SIDDHARTA experiment at the electron-positron collider DAFNE of LNF-INFN we measured the most precise values of the strong interaction observables, i.e. the strong interaction on the 1s ground state of the electromagnetically bound kaonic hydrogen atom leading to a hadronic shift and a hadronic broadening of the 1s state. The SIDDHARTA result triggered new theoretical work which achieved major progress in the understanding of the low-energy strong interaction with strangeness. Antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths have been calculated constrained by the SIDDHARTA data on kaonic hydrogen. For the extraction of the isospin-dependent scattering lengths a measurement of the hadronic shift and width of kaonic deuterium is necessary. Therefore, new X-ray studies with the focus on kaonic deuterium are in preparation (SIDDHARTA2). Many improvements in the experimental setup will allow to measure kaonic deuterium which is challenging due to the anticipated low X-ray yield. Especially important are the data on the X-ray yields of kaonic deuterium extracted from a exploratory experiment within SIDDHARTA.

Future projects of light kaonic atom X-ray spectroscopy

X-ray spectroscopy of light kaonic atoms is a unique tool to provide precise information on the fundamental KN 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.

Towards a field theoretical understanding of kaonic deuterium: leading order retardation effects

Antikaon-deuteron scattering is studied at low energies within the non-relativistic effective field theory (EFT) approach. The largest contribution to the \(\bar K d\) scattering length stems from the multiple scattering series with infinitely heavy (static) nucleons. While the leading static contribution is inherently non-perturbative and requires resummation, the correction to the scattering length due to the nucleon recoil (retardation) effect is amenable to the perturbative treatment with respect to the small parameter ξ=MK/mN. The first order correction to the K−d scattering length due to single insertion of the retardation term in the multiple-scattering series is calculated. The leading recoil effect turns out to be reasonably small and contributes less than 10 % to the scattering length.

Three-body calculation of the 1s level shift in kaonic deuterium

The first exact calculation of a three-body hadronic atom was performed. Kaonic deuterium 1s level shift and width were evaluated using Faddeev-type equations with Coulomb interaction. The obtained exact results were compared with commonly used approximate approaches.

Measurement of the Strong Interaction Induced Shift and Width of the 1$s$ State of Kaonic Deuterium at J-PARC

The antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold provides crucial information on the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking in low-energy QCD. In this context the importance of kaonic deuterium X-ray spectroscopy has been well recognized, but no experimental results have yet been obtained due to the difficulty of the measurement. We propose to measure the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium 1s state with an accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV respectively at J-PARC. These results together with the kaonic hydrogen data (KpX at KEK, DEAR and SIDDHARTA at DAFNE) will then permit the determination of values of both the isospin I=0 and I=1 antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths and will provide the most stringent constraints on the antikaon-nucleon interaction, promising a breakthrough. Refined Monte Carlo studies were performed, including the investigation of background suppression factors for the described setup. These studies have demonstrated the feasibility of determining the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium atom 1s state with the desired accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV.

Progress and perspectives in the low-energy kaon-nucleon/nuclei interaction studies at the DAΦNE collider

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).