Kaonic Copper and Fluorine Absolute Yields Measurement with a CZT-based Detection System at DA$\Phi$NE

TL;DR

This paper reports new measurements of absolute X-ray yields in kaonic copper and fluorine using a CZT detector at DAΦNE, revealing strong-interaction effects at the atomic level and demonstrating the detector's effectiveness.

Contribution

First measurement of kaonic fluorine X-ray yields with a CZT detector, providing insights into strong-interaction effects at intermediate atomic levels.

Findings

Yields depend on principal quantum number, indicating interplay of radiative and strong interactions.

Suppression of the 4→3 transition in kaonic fluorine suggests early strong-interaction effects.

Established CZT detection as effective for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy in collider experiments.

Abstract

\noindent In this work, new measurements of absolute X-ray yields for several transitions in kaonic copper and, for the first time, in kaonic fluorine are reported. The data were collected by the SIDDHARTA-2 collaboration at the DA$\Phi$NE collider using a novel room-temperature Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) detection system. Detection efficiencies were evaluated through a dedicated Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation of the full experimental setup, enabling the extraction of absolute yields per stopped kaon. \noindent The measured yields exhibit a systematic dependence on the principal quantum number, reflecting the interplay between radiative transitions, Auger de-excitation, and strong-interaction-induced nuclear capture. In kaonic fluorine, a suppression of the 4$\to$3 transition yield relative to higher-n transitions is observed, providing evidence for the onset of strong-interaction effects already at the $n=4$ level. From this behaviour, a conservative lower limit on the corresponding strong-interaction width is derived. \noindent These results provide new quantitative constraints for cascade models of exotic atoms and extend experimental access to intermediate atomic levels where strong-interaction effects are not directly observable via level shifts and widths. They also establish CZT-based detection as a powerful and versatile approach for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of kaonic atoms in collider environments.