Preliminary study of kaonic deuterium X-rays by the SIDDHARTA experiment at DAFNE

The study of the KbarN system at very low energies plays a key role for the understanding of the strong interaction between hadrons in the strangeness sector. At the DAFNE electron-positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati we studied kaonic atoms with Z=1 and Z=2, taking advantage of the low-energy charged kaons from Phi-mesons decaying nearly at rest. The SIDDHARTA experiment used X-ray spectroscopy of the kaonic atoms to determine the transition yields and the strong interaction induced shift and width of the lowest experimentally accessible level (1s for H and D and 2p for He). Shift and width are connected to the real and imaginary part of the scattering length. To disentangle the isospin dependent scattering lengths of the antikaon-nucleon interaction, measurements of Kp and of Kd are needed. We report here on an exploratory deuterium measurement, from which a limit for the yield of the K-series transitions was derived: Y(K_tot)<0.0143 and Y(K_alpha)<0.0039 (CL 90%). Also, the upcoming SIDDHARTA-2 kaonic deuterium experiment is introduced.Comment: Accepted by Nuclear Physics

First measurement of kaonic helium-3 X-rays

The first observation of the kaonic 3He 3d - 2p transition was made using slow K- mesons stopped in a gaseous 3He target. The kaonic atom X-rays were detected with large-area silicon drift detectors using the timing information of the K+K- pairs of phi-meson decays produced by the DAFNE e+e- collider. The strong interaction shift of the kaonic 3He 2p state was determined to be -2+-2 (stat)+-4 (syst) eV.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

A New Measurement of Kaonic Hydrogen X rays

The $\bar{K}N$ system at threshold is a sensitive testing ground for low energy QCD, especially for the explicit chiral symmetry breaking. Therefore, we have measured the $K$-series x rays of kaonic hydrogen atoms at the DA$\Phi$NE electron-positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, and have determined the most precise values of the strong-interaction energy-level shift and width of the $1s$ atomic state. As x-ray detectors, we used large-area silicon drift detectors having excellent energy and timing resolution, which were developed especially for the SIDDHARTA experiment. The shift and width were determined to be $\epsilon_{1s} = -283 \pm 36 \pm 6 {(syst)}$ eV and $\Gamma_{1s} = 541 \pm 89 {(stat)} \pm 22 {(syst)}$ eV, respectively. The new values will provide vital constraints on the theoretical description of the low-energy $\bar{K}N$ interaction.Comment: 5 figures, submitted to Physics Letters

Kaonic hydrogen X-ray measurement in SIDDHARTA

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 DA$\Phi$NE 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 $\bar{K}N$ interaction.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, Nuclear Physics A (in press) Special Issue on Strangeness Nuclear Physic

Unlocking the secrets of the kaon-nucleon/nuclei interactions at low-energies: The SIDDHARTA(-2) and the AMADEUS experiments at the DA Phi NE collider

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Low-energy kaon-nucleon/nuclei interaction studies at DAΦNE (SIDDHARTA and AMADEUS experiments)

The DAΦNE electron-positron collider at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati of INFN has made available a unique-quality low-energy negative-kaons “beam”. The SIDDHARTA experiment used this beam to perform unprecedented precision measurements on kaonic atoms, while the AMADEUS experiment plans to perform in the coming years precision measurements on kaon-nuclei interactions at low-energies, in particular to study the kaonic nuclei. The two experiments are briefly presented in this paper

Measurements of the strong-interaction widths of the kaonic 3He and 4He 2p levels

The kaonic 3He and 4He X-rays emitted in the 3d-2p transitions were measured in the SIDDHARTA experiment. The widths of the kaonic 3He and 4He 2p states were determined to be Gamma_2p(3He) = 6 \pm 6 (stat.) \pm 7 (syst.) eV, and Gamma_2p(4He) = 14 \pm 8 (stat.) \pm 5 (syst.) eV, respectively. Both results are consistent with the theoretical predictions. The width of kaonic 4He is much smaller than the value of 55 \pm 34 eV determined by the experiments performed in the 70's and 80's, while the width of kaonic 3He was determined for the first time.Comment: Accepted in Phys. Lett.