Many Facets of Strangeness Nuclear Physics with Stored Antiprotons

TL;DR

Stored antiproton beams enable unprecedented studies of strange hadronic systems, hyperon behavior in nuclei, and multistrange hypernuclei with high precision, opening new avenues in strangeness nuclear physics.

Contribution

This paper proposes utilizing stored antiproton beams in the GeV range to explore hyperon-antihyperon production, hyperon behavior in nuclear systems, and high-resolution spectroscopy of multistrange nuclei, advancing strangeness nuclear physics.

Findings

Potential to study hyperon and antihyperon interactions in nuclei

Feasibility of high-resolution spectroscopy of multistrange hypernuclei

First prospects for measuring the quadrupole moment of a baryon

Abstract

Stored antiprotons beams in the GeV range represent a unparalleled factory for hyperon-antihyperon pairs. Their outstanding large production probability in antiproton collisions will open the floodgates for a series of new studies of strange hadronic systems with unprecedented precision. The behavior of hyperons and -- for the first time -- of antihyperons in nuclear systems can be studied under well controlled conditions. The exclusive production of $\Lambda\bar{\Lambda}$ and $\Sigma^-\bar{\Lambda}$ pairs in antiproton-nucleus interactions probe the neutron and proton distribution in the nuclear periphery and will help to sample the neutron skin. For the first time, high resolution $\gamma$-spectroscopy of doubly strange nuclei will be performed, thus complementing measurements of ground state decays of double hypernuclei with mesons beams at J-PARC or possible decays of particle unstable hypernuclei in heavy ion reactions. High resolution spectroscopy of multistrange $\Xi$-atoms are feasible and even the production of $\Omega^-$-atoms will be within reach. The latter might open the door to the $|s|$=3 world in strangeness nuclear physics, by the study of the hadronic $\Omega^-$-nucleus interaction and the very first measurement of a spectroscopic quadrupole moment of a baryon which will be a benchmark test for our understanding of hadron structure.