Search for ppK- with proton induced reactions at GSI

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel proton-proton reaction method at 3.5 GeV to search for the ppK- kaonic state, utilizing the FOPI spectrometer at GSI with a specialized silicon trigger system, supported by feasibility tests and simulations.

Contribution

It introduces an alternative experimental approach to detect the ppK- kaonic state using proton-induced reactions and a new trigger system at GSI.

Findings

Feasibility of the measurement confirmed through tests.

Positive detection results demonstrated in simulations.

Trigger system enhances detection capability.

Abstract

Several experiments engaging kaon beams have been carried out to study the existence of deeply bound kaonic state. We proposed an alternative method, which exploits a p+p reaction at 3.5GeV incoming energy to search for the most elementary of the kaonic states: ppK-. This experiment is planned with the FOPI spectrometer at GSI and a silicon-based trigger system has been developed to increase the detection capability of the existing system for the reaction of interest. Several tests have been performed under realistic beam conditions to test the feasibility of the measurement and the proof of principle of the trigger system. The positive results of such measurements are shown in this contribution together with the expected rates extracted from simulations.