Strong binding and shrinkage of single and double kbar~nuclear systems (K^-pp, K^-ppn, K^-K^-p and K^-K^-pp) predicted by Faddeev-Yakubovsky calculations

TL;DR

This paper uses Faddeev-Yakubovsky calculations to predict the binding energies and structures of various kaonic nuclear clusters, revealing significant density shrinkage and potential implications for kaon condensation and dense nuclear matter.

Contribution

It provides detailed non-relativistic calculations of kaonic nuclear clusters with new binding energy estimates and insights into density effects and medium modifications.

Findings

Binding energies range from 30.4 to 93 MeV for different clusters.

The K^-K^-pp state shows high density despite NN repulsion.

Relativistic effects suggest masses lower toward kaon condensation.

Abstract

Non-relativistic Faddeev and Faddeev-Yakubovsky calculations were made for K^-pp, K^- ppn, K^-K^-p and K^- K^-pp kaonic nuclear clusters, where the quasi bound states were treated as bound states by employing real separable potential models for the K^ - - K^ - and the K^ - -nucleon interactions as well as for the nucleon-nucleon interaction. The binding energies and spatial shrinkages of these states, obtained for various values of the Kbar N interaction, were found to increase rapidly with the Kbar N interaction strength. Their behaviors are shown in a reference diagram, where possible changes by varying the KbarN interaction in the dense nuclear medium are given. Using the Lambda(1405) ansatz with a PDG mass of 1405 MeV/ c^2 for K^-p, the following ground-state binding energies together with the wave functions were obtained: 51.5 MeV ( K^ - pp ), 69 MeV ( K^ - ppn), 30.4 MeV ( K^ - K^ - p ) and 93 MeV ( K^ -K^ - pp ), which are in good agreement with previous results of variational calculation based on the Akaishi-Yamazaki coupled-channel potential. The K^ - K^ - pp state has a significantly increased density where the two nucleons are located very close to each other, in spite of the inner NN repulsion. Relativistic corrections on the calculated non-relativistic results indicate substantial lowering of the bound-state masses, especially of K^-K^-pp , toward the kaon condensation regime. The fact that the recently observed binding energy of K^-pp is much larger (by a factor of 2) than the originally predicted one may infer an enhancement of the KbarN interaction in dense nuclei by about 25 %, possibly due to chiral symmetry restoration. In this respect some qualitative accounts are given based on "clearing QCD vacuum" model of Brown, Kubodera and Rho.