Kaonic 3He and 4He X-ray measurements in SIDDHARTA

TL;DR

The SIDDHARTA experiment measured the strong-interaction shifts in kaonic helium isotopes, resolving the longstanding 'kaonic helium puzzle' by showing much smaller shifts than previous experiments, and provided first observations of kaonic 3He X-rays.

Contribution

First measurements of kaonic 3He and 4He X-ray shifts using gaseous targets, conclusively resolving the 'kaonic helium puzzle' with significantly smaller shifts.

Findings

Kaonic 4He shift is much smaller than past values.

First observation of kaonic 3He X-rays.

Both shifts are only a few eV.

Abstract

The strong-interaction shift of kaonic 3He and 4He 2p states was measured using gaseous targets for the first time in the SIDDHARTA experiment. The determined shift of kaonic 4He is much smaller than the values obtained in the experiments performed in 70's and 80's. Thus, the problems in kaonic helium (the "kaonic helium puzzle") was definitely solved by our measurements. The first observation of the kaonic 3He X-rays was also achieved. The shift both of kaonic 3He and 4He was found to be as small as a few eV.