Indication of a Deeply Bound and Compact K{sup -}pp State Formed in the pp{yields}p{Lambda}K{sup +} Reaction at 2.85 GeV

Journal Article · Fri Apr 02 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.104.132502· OSTI ID:21410612

Yamazaki, T ^[1]; Maggiora, M; Amoroso, A; Alexeev, M; Balestra, F; Bussa, M P; Colantoni, M L; Ferrero, L; Garfagnini, R; Grasso, A; Maggiora, A; Sosio, S ^[2]; Kienle, P ^[3]; Suzuki, K ^[3]; Bedfer, Y; Brochard, F; Faivre, J -Cl ^[4]; Bertini, R; Heinz, S ^[5]; Bland, L C ^[6]

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1. Department of Physics, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 116-0033 Japan (Japan)
2. Dipartimento di Fisica Generale ''A. Avogadro'' and INFN, Torino (Italy)
3. Stefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria)
4. Laboratoire National Saturne, CEA Saclay (France)
5. Dipartimento di Fisica Generale 'A. Avogadro' and INFN, Torino (Italy)
6. Indiana University Cyclotron Facility, Bloomington, Indiana (United States)

We have analyzed data of the DISTO experiment on the exclusive pp{yields}p{Lambda}K{sup +} reaction at 2.85 GeV to search for a strongly bound compact K{sup -}pp({identical_to}X) state to be formed in the pp{yields}K{sup +}+X reaction. The observed spectra of the K{sup +} missing mass and the p{Lambda} invariant-mass with high transverse momenta of p and K{sup +} revealed a broad distinct peak of 26-{sigma} confidence with a mass M{sub X}=2267{+-}3(stat){+-}5(syst) MeV/c{sup 2} and a width {Gamma}{sub X}=118{+-}8(stat){+-}10(syst) MeV. The enormously large cross section indicates formation of a compact K{sup -}pp with a large binding energy of B{sub K}=103 MeV, which can be a possible gateway toward cold and dense kaonic nuclear matter.

• OSTI ID: 21410612
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 13; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.132502; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BINDING ENERGY
CROSS SECTIONS
GEV RANGE
KAONS MINUS
KAONS PLUS
MEV RANGE
MISSING MASS
MISSING-MASS SPECTRA
NUCLEAR MATTER
TRANSVERSE MOMENTUM
BOSONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY
ENERGY RANGE
HADRONS
KAONS
LINEAR MOMENTUM
MASS
MATTER
MESONS
PSEUDOSCALAR MESONS
SPECTRA
STRANGE MESONS
STRANGE PARTICLES