Molecule model for deeply bound and broad kaonic nuclear clusters

TL;DR

This paper introduces a molecule model to describe kaonic nuclear clusters, accurately predicting their large binding energies and widths, and explaining high Lambda*p sticking probabilities in proton-proton reactions.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel molecule model for kaonic nuclear clusters that reproduces experimental data and incorporates chiral Lagrangians with harmonic oscillator wave functions.

Findings

The model predicts a binding energy of 118 MeV for anti-KNN.

The width of the anti-KNN cluster is calculated as 142 MeV.

The density of the cluster is about 2.71 times the normal nuclear density.

Abstract

A molecule model is proposed for the description of the properties of the kaonic nuclear cluster (KNC) anti-KNN with the structure N(ant-KN)_(I = 0) and quantum numbers I(J^P) = 1/2(0^-), the large binding energy B^(\exp)_(anti-KNN) = 103(6) MeV and the width Gamma^(\exp)_(anti-KNN) = 118(13) MeV, observed recently by the DISTO Collaboration. The theoretical values of the binding energy B^(th)_(anti-KNN) = 118 MeV, the width Gamma^(th)_(anti-KNN) = 142 MeV of the KNC anti-KNN and the density n_(anti-KNN) = 2.71 n_0, where n_0= 0.17 fm^(-3) is the normal nuclear density, reproduce well the large experimental values. They are calculated with the trial harmonic oscillator wave functions by using chiral Lagrangians, accounting for all self-energy terms, contributing to the masses of the kaonic nuclear clusters (anti-KN)_(I = 0) and anti-KNN. In addition the high Lambda*p sticking probability in the pp reaction at the kinetic energy T_p = 2.85 GeV of the incident proton is explained.