Probing Nuclear Structure with Kaonic Atoms through E2 Resonance Mixing

TL;DR

This paper explores how kaonic atoms can be used to probe nuclear structure by studying E2 resonance mixing, especially in molybdenum isotopes, combining atomic and nuclear physics insights.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed theoretical framework for E2 resonance in kaonic atoms using advanced calculations and nuclear data, highlighting experimental observability.

Findings

Resonant E2 mixing occurs when atomic and nuclear energy levels align.

Sensitivity analysis shows key parameters influence the resonance strength.

Potential for future experiments to observe and utilize this effect.

Abstract

Kaonic atoms provide a unique laboratory to investigate the interplay between atomic, nuclear, and strong-interaction physics. In heavy nuclei, atomic transitions can couple to low-lying collective nuclear excitations via the electric quadrupole interaction. When the energy difference between two kaonic atomic levels approaches that of a nuclear $2^+$ excitation, a resonant configuration mixing may occur, known as the E2 nuclear resonance effect. In this work, we investigate the conditions for E2 resonance in kaonic molybdenum isotopes. We describe the mixing using state-of-the-art Dirac-Fock calculations combined with updated nuclear structure inputs, including recent electric quadrupole transition strength values and excitation energies. We evaluate the sensitivity of the effect to key parameters, assess its observability in future experiments such as the EXKALIBUR program, and discuss its impact on cascade dynamics. Our results demonstrate the potential of kaonic atoms as a probe of nuclear structure, complementary to conventional nuclear spectroscopy.