First observation of (anti)deuterons in DIS

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of (anti)deuterons in deep inelastic ep scattering at HERA, revealing production rates and asymmetries that enhance understanding of nuclear matter formation in high-energy collisions.

Contribution

It provides the first measurement of (anti)deuteron production in DIS, showing higher deuteron than antideuteron rates and confirming the small yield compared to protons.

Findings

Deuterons are produced more frequently than antideuterons.

No asymmetry was observed in proton and antiproton production.

Deuteron yields are about three orders of magnitude smaller than proton yields.

Abstract

First observation of (anti)deuterons in deep inelastic ep scattering (DIS) measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA is reported. The production rate of deuterons is higher than that of antideuterons. However, no asymmetry in the production rate of protons and antiprotons was found. The (anti)deuteron yield is approximately three orders of magnitude smaller than that of (anti)protons, which is consistent with the world measurements.