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In Charged Particle Therapy (PT) proton or 12C beams are used to treat deep-seated solid tumors exploiting the advantageous characteristics of charged particles energy deposition in matter. For such projectiles, the maximum of the dose is released at the end of the beam range, in the Bragg peak region, where the tumour is located. However, the nuclear interactions of the beam nuclei with the patient tissues can induce the fragmentation of projectiles and/or target nuclei and needs to be carefully taken into account when planning the treatment. In proton treatments, the target fragmentation produces low energy, short range fragments along all the beam path, that deposit a non-negligible dose especially in the first crossed tissues. On the other hand, in treatments performed using 12C, or other (4He or 16O) ions of interest, the main concern is related to the production of long range fragments that can release their dose in the healthy tissues beyond the Bragg peak. Understanding nuclear fragmentation processes is of interest also for radiation protection in human space flight applications, in view of deep space missions. In particular 4He and high-energy charged particles, mainly 12C, 16O, 28Si and 56Fe, provide the main source of absorbed dose in astronauts outside the atmosphere. The nuclear fragmentation properties of the materials used to build the spacecrafts need to be known with high accuracy in order to optimise the shielding against the space radiation. The study of the impact of these processes, which is of interest both for PT and space radioprotection applications, suffers at present from the limited experimental precision achieved on the relevant nuclear cross sections that compromise the reliability of the available computational models. The FOOT (FragmentatiOn Of Target) collaboration, composed of researchers from France, Germany, Italy and Japan, designed an experiment to study these nuclear processes and measure the corresponding fragmentation cross sections. In this work we discuss the physics motivations of FOOT, describing in detail the present detector design and the expected performances, coming from the optimization studies based on accurate FLUKA MC simulations and preliminary beam test results. The measurements planned will be also presented.

The study that we present is part of the preparation work for the setup of the FOOT (FragmentatiOn Of Target) experiment whose main goal is the measurement of the double differential cross sections of fragments produced in nuclear interactions of particles with energies relevant for particle therapy. The present work is focused on the characterization of the gas-filled drift chamber detector composed of 36 sensitive cells, distributed over two perpendicular views. Each view consists of six consecutive and staggered layers with three cells per layer. We investigated the detector efficiency and we performed an external calibration of the space–time relations at the level of single cells. This information was then used to evaluate the drift chamber resolution. An external tracking system realized with microstrip silicon detectors was adopted to have a track measurement independent on the drift chamber. The characterization was performed with a proton beam at the energies of 228 and 80 MeV. The overall hit detection efficiency of the drift chamber has been found to be 0 . 929 ± 0 . 008 , independent on the proton beam energy. The spatial resolution in the central part of the cell is about 150 ± 10 μ m and 300 ± 10 μ m and the corresponding detector angular resolution has been measured to be 1 . 62 ± 0 . 16 mrad and 2 . 1 ± 0 . 4 mrad for the higher and lower beam energies, respectively. In addition, the best value on the intrinsic drift chamber resolution has been evaluated to be in the range 60 − 100 μ m. In the framework of the FOOT experiment, the drift chamber will be adopted in the pre-target region, and will be exploited to measure the projectile direction and position, as well as for the identification of pre-target fragmentation events.

Charged Particle Therapy (CPT) is a powerful radiotherapy technique for the treatment of deep-seated tumours characterized by a large dose released in the Bragg peak area (corresponding to the tumour region) and a small dose delivered to the surrounding healthy tissues. The precise measurement of the fragments produced in the nuclear interactions of charged particle beams with patient tissues is a crucial task to improve the clinical treatment plans. The FOOT (FragmentatiOn Of Target) experiment is an international project, funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), aimed to study the dose released by the tissues and particle beams fragmentation. The target (16O, 12C) fragmentation induced by 150-400 MeV/n proton beams will be studied via the inverse kinematic approach, where 16O and 12C therapeutic beams collide on graphite and hydrocarbon target to provide the cross section on Hydrogen. A table-top detector is being developed and it includes a drift chamber as a beam monitor upstream of the target to measure the beam direction, a magnetic spectrometer based on silicon pixel and strip detectors, a scintillating crystal calorimeter able to stop the heavier produced fragments, and a ΔE detector, with TOF capability, for the particle identification. A setup based on the concept of the “Emulsion Cloud Chamber”, coupled with the interaction region of the electronic FOOT setup, will complement the physics program by measuring lighter charged fragments to extend the angular acceptance up to about 70 degrees. In this work, the experimental design and the requirements of the FOOT experiment will be discussed and preliminary results on the emulsion spectrometer tests will be presented.

High precision light kaonic atoms X-ray spectroscopy is a unique tool for performing experiments equivalent to scattering at vanishing relative energies, to determine the antikaon–nucleus interaction at threshold without the need of extrapolation to zero energy. The SIDDHARTA-2 collaboration is going to perform the first measurement of kaonic deuterium transitions to the fundamental level, which is mandatory to extract the isospin dependent antikaon–nucleon scattering lengths. The SIDDHARTA-2 experiment is presently installed on the DA $$\Phi $$ NE collider of INFN-LNF. The preliminary results obtained during the machine commissioning phase in preparation for the kaonic deuterium data taking campaign, together with future perspectives for extreme precision kaonic atoms studies at DA $$\Phi $$ NE are presented.

The SIDDHARTA-2 collaboration developed an innovative large area Silicon Drift Detectors technology to perform high precision spectroscopy for the investigation of the K¯ N strong interaction in the low-energy regime, in the strangeness sector. The SIDDHARTA-2 devices take advantage of special geometry to maximize the experimental geometrical acceptance together with a dedicated Front End electronics able to provide energy resolution of 163 1 eV at 170 K for the Fe Kα line and a linear response better than 10-3, both preserved along the whole DAQ analog-digital chain in a colliding beams challenging environment. In this work the SIDDHARTA-2 Silicon Drift Detectors spectroscopic characterization and the preliminary results obtained at the DAΦNE collider of Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati are presented.

Summary: Charged particle therapy exploits proton or 12C beams to treat deep-seated solid tumors. Due to the advantageous characteristics of charged particles energy deposition in matter, the maximum of the dose is released to the tumor at the end of the beam range, in the Bragg peak region. However, the beam nuclear interactions with the patient tissues induces fragmentation both of projectile and target nuclei and needs to be carefully taken into account. In proton treatments, target fragmentation produces low energy, short range fragments along all the beam range, which deposit a non negligible dose in the entry channel. In 12C treatments the main concern is represented by long range fragments due to beam fragmentation that release their dose in the healthy tissues beyond the tumor. The FOOT experiment (FragmentatiOn Of Target) of INFN is designed to study these processes, in order to improve the nuclear fragmentation description in next generation Treatment Planning Systems and the treatment plans quality. Target (16O and 12C nuclei) fragmentation induced by –proton beams at therapeutic energies will be studied via an inverse kinematic approach, where 16O and 12C therapeutic beams impinge on graphite and hydrocarbon targets to provide the nuclear fragmentation cross section on hydrogen. Projectile fragmentation of 16O and 12C beams will be explored as well. The FOOT detector includes a magnetic spectrometer for the fragments momentum measurement, a plastic scintillator for ΔE and time of flight measurements and a crystal calorimeter to measure the fragments kinetic energy. These measurements will be combined in order to make an accurate fragment charge and isotopic identification. Keywords: Hadrontherapy, Nuclear fragmentation cross sections, Tracking detectors, Scintillating detectors

The DAΦNE electron-positron collider of the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati of INFN is a worldwide unique low-energy kaon source and for this reason is suitable for low-energy kaon physics like kaonic atoms and kaon-nucleons/nuclei interaction studies. Kaonic atoms are atomic systems where an electron is replaced by a negatively charged kaon, containing the strange quark, which interacts in the lowest orbits with the nucleus also by the strong interaction. As a result, their study offers the unique opportunity to perform experiments equivalent to scattering at vanishing relative energy. This allows to study the strong interaction between the antikaon and the nucleon or the nucleus “at threshold”, without the need of ad hoc extrapolation to zero energy, as in scattering experiments. The most precise kaonic hydrogen measurement to date, together with an exploratory measurement of kaonic deuterium, were carried out by the SIDDHARTA collaboration at the DAΦNE electron-positron collider of LNF-INFN, by combining the excellent quality kaon beam delivered by the collider with new experimental techniques, as fast and precise Silicon-Drift X-ray Detectors. The measurement of kaonic deuterium will be realized in the near future by SIDDHARTA-2, a major upgrade of SIDDHARTA.

X-ray spectroscopy of kaonic atoms provides a versatile tool to study the strong interaction at low energies via a direct observation of its influence on the ground state of kaonic hydrogen atoms. The SIDDHARTA experiment provided precise results on the energy shift and width of the kaonic hydrogen 1s state induced by the strong interaction. To enable the extraction of the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths a0 and a1, SIDDHARTA-2 aims to determine the energy shift and width in kaonic deuterium with precisions of 30 eV and 75 eV, respectively. This measurement is aggravated by the low kaonic deuterium X-ray yield and a high background environment and will only be possible by implementing a severe upgrade on the SIDDHARTA apparatus.

The excellent quality kaon beam provided by the DA\PhiΦNE collider of LNF-INFN (Italy) together with SIDDHARTA/SIDDHARTA-2 new experimental techniques, as very precise and fast-response X-ray detectors, allow to perform unprecedented measurements on light kaonic atoms crucial for a deeper understanding of the low-energy quantum chromodynamics (QCD) in the strangeness sector. In this paper an overview of the main results obtained by the SIDDHARTA collaboration, as well as the future plans related to the SIDDHARTA-2 experiment, are discussed.

A luminosity monitor, based on plastic scintillator detectors, has been developed for the SIDDHARTA-2 experiment aiming to perform high precision measurements of kaonic atoms and was installed in 2020 on the DAFNE $e^+e^-$ collider at LNF (Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN). The main goal of this system is to provide the~instantaneous and integrated luminosity of the DAFNE facility by measuring the rate of $K^+K^-$ correlated pairs emitted by the phi meson decay. This task requires an accurate timing of the DAQ signals, as well as timing resolution below 1ns, in order to disentangle the $K^\pm$ signals from the background minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) produced during the $e^+e^-$ collisions at DAFNE. In this paper the luminosity monitor concept as well as its laboratory characterization and the first results inside DAFNE are presented., Published in JINST

The VIP collaboration is performing high precision tests of the Pauli Exclusion Principle for electrons in the extremely low cosmic background environment of the Underground Gran Sasso Laboratories of INFN (Italy). The experimental technique consists in introducing a DC current in a copper conductor, searching for the X-rays emission due to a PEP-forbidden atomic transition from the L shell to the K shell of copper when the K shell is already occupied by two electrons. VIP set un upper limit on the PEP violation probability 1 2 β 2 < 4.7 × 10 − 29 , the aim of the upgraded VIP-2 experiment is to improve this result by two orders of magnitude at least. The experimental setup and the results of preliminary data analyses will be presented.

The precision of the charged kaon mass is an order of magnitude worse than the precision of the charged pion mass mainly due to two inconsistent measurements. We plan to improve this precision by determining the charged kaon mass with the requested accuracy in the measurements of X-ray transitions in kaonic atoms of selected solid targets with the HPGe detector at DAΦNE in Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Italy. The measurements will be performed in parallel with SIDDHARTA-2 measurements of X-ray transitions in gaseous targets. The status of the preparation of the measurements will be presented.

The antikaon-nucleon interaction close to threshold provides crucial information on the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking in low-energy QCD. In this context the importance of kaonic deuterium X-ray spectroscopy has been well recognized, but no experimental results have yet been obtained due to the difficulty of the measurement. We propose to measure the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium 1s state with an accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV respectively at J-PARC. These results together with the kaonic hydrogen data (KpX at KEK, DEAR and SIDDHARTA at DAFNE) will then permit the determination of values of both the isospin I=0 and I=1 antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths and will provide the most stringent constraints on the antikaon-nucleon interaction, promising a breakthrough. Refined Monte Carlo studies were performed, including the investigation of background suppression factors for the described setup. These studies have demonstrated the feasibility of determining the shift and width of the kaonic deuterium atom 1s state with the desired accuracy of 60 eV and 140 eV., 12 pages, 9 figures

Particle therapy uses protons or $^{12}$C beams for the treatment of deep-seated solid tumors. Due to the features of the energy deposition of charged particles in matter, a limited amount of dose is released to the healthy tissue in the beam entrance region, while the maximum of the dose is released to the tumor at the end of the beam range, in the Bragg peak region. However nuclear interactions between beam and patient tissues induce fragmentation both of projectile and target. This has to be carefully taken into account since different ions have different effectiveness in producing a biological damage. par In $^{12}$C treatments the main concern are long range forward emitted secondary ions produced in projectile fragmentation that release dose in the healthy tissue after the tumor. Instead, in a proton treatment, the target fragmentation produces low energy, short range fragments along all the beam range. The FOOT experiment (FragmentatiOn Of Target) is designed to study these processes. Target nuclei ($^{16}$O, $^{12}$C) fragmentation induced by 150-250 MeV proton beam will be studied by means of the inverse kinematic approach: $^{16}$O,$^{12}$C therapeutic beams, at the quoted kinetic energy per nucleon, collide on graphite and hydrocarbons target. The cross section on Hydrogen can be then extracted by subtraction. This configuration explores also the projectile fragmentation of these O and C beams, or other ions of therapeutic interest, such as $^4$He for instance. The detector includes a magnetic spectrometer based on silicon pixel and strip detectors, a scintillating crystal calorimeter able to stop the heavier produced fragments, and a $\Delta E$ detector, with TOF capability, to achieve the needed energy resolution and particle identification. In addition to the electronic apparatus, an alternative setup based on the concept of the "Emulsion Cloud Chamber", coupled with the interaction region of the electronic FOOT setup, will provide the measurement of lighter charged fragments: protons, deuterons, tritons and Helium nuclei. The FOOT data taking is foreseen in the available experimental rooms existing in the presently operational charged particle therapy facilities in Europe, and possibly at GSI. An initial phase with the emulsion setup will start in early 2018, while the complete electronic detector will take data starting in 2019. In this work a general description of the FOOT experiment and of its expected performances is presented.

This article presents the kaonic atom studies performed at the INFN National Laboratory of Frascati (Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati dell&rsquo, INFN, LNF-INFN) since the opening of this field of research at the DA &Phi, NE collider in early 2000. Significant achievements have been obtained by the DA &Phi, NE Exotic Atom Research (DEAR) and Silicon Drift Detector for Hadronic Atom Research by Timing Applications (SIDDHARTA) experiments on kaonic hydrogen, which have required the development of novel X-ray detectors. The 2019 installation of the new SIDDHARTA-2 experiment to measure kaonic deuterium for the first time has been made possible by further technological advances in X-ray detection.

Many experiments investigated the violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) since its discovery in 1925. The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli Principle) experiment tested the PEP by measuring the probability for an external electron to be captured and undergo a 2p to 1s transition during its cascading process, where the 1s state is already occupied by two electrons. This transition is forbidden by the Pauli Exclusion Principle. The VIP experiment resulted in a preliminary upper limit for the probability of the violation of the PEP of 4.7 x 10^{-29}. Currently a setup for the follow-up experiment VIP 2 is under preparation. The goal of this experiment is to improve the upper limit for the violation of the PEP by two orders of magnitude, by different improvements like enhanced energy resolution of the X-ray detectors and by implementing an active shielding. Here we report currently ongoing performance tests of the new parts of the setup., EXA 2014 proceedings in Hyperfine Interactions (2015), Springer International Publishing

High-precision experiments have been done to test the Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) for electrons by searching for anomalous $K$-series X-rays from a Cu target supplied with electric current. With the highest sensitivity, the VIP (VIolation of Pauli Exclusion Principle) experiment set an upper limit at the level of $10^{-29}$ for the probability that an external electron captured by a Cu atom can make the transition from the 2$p$ state to a 1$s$ state already occupied by two electrons. In a follow-up experiment at Gran Sasso, we aim to increase the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude. We show proofs that the proposed improvement factor is realistic based on the results from recent performance tests of the detectors we did at Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF)., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, conference proceedings on TAUP 2013

The low-energy strong interaction of antikaons (K-) with nuclei has many facets and rep- resents a lively and challenging research field. It is interconnected to the peculiar role of strangeness, since the strange quark is rather light, but still much heavier than the up and down quarks. Thus, when strangeness is involved one has to deal with spontaneous and explicit symmetry breaking in QCD. It is well known that the antikaon interaction with nucleons is attractive, but how strong ? Is the interaction strong enough to bind nucleons to form kaonic nuclei and, if so, what are the properties (binding energy, decay width)? There are controversial indications for such bound states and new results are expected to come soon. The existence of antikaon mediated bound states might have important consequences since it would open the possibility for the formation of cold baryonic matter of high density which might have a severe impact in astrophysics for the understanding of the composi- tion of compact (neutron) stars. New experimental opportunities could be provided by the AMADEUS experiment at the DA?NE electron-positron collider at LNF-INFN (Frascati, Italy). Pre-AMADEUS studies on the antikaon interaction with nuclei are carried out by analysis of data collected by KLOE in till 2005 and in special data runs using a carbon target insert. Studies for the dedicated AMADEUS detector setup taking advantage of the low-energy antikaons from Phi-meson decay delivered by DAFNE are in progress. Some re- sults obtained so far and the perspectives of the AMADEUS experiment are presented and discussed., 6 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings LEAP2016

The interaction of antikaons (K−) with nucleons and nuclei in the low-energy regime represents an active research field in hadron physics. There are important open questions like the existence of antikaon nuclear bound states like the prototype system being K− pp. Unique and rather direct experimental access to the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths is provided by precision X-ray spectroscopy of transitions in low-lying states in light kaonic atoms like kaonic hydrogen and helium isotopes. In the SIDDHARTA experiment at the electron-positron collider DAΦNE of LNF-INFN we measured the most precise values of the strong interaction observables, i.e. the strong interaction on the 1s ground state of the electromagnetically bound K−p atom leading to energy shift and broadening of the 1s state. The SIDDHARTA result triggered new theoretical work, which achieved major progress in the understanding of the low-energy strong interaction with strangeness reflected by the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths calculated with the K−-proton amplitudes constrained by the SIDDHARTA data. The most important open question is the experimental determination of the hadronic energy shift and width of kaonic deuterium which is planned by the SIDDHARTA-2 Collaboration.

AMADEUS is an experiment planned to be performed at the DAΦNE e+e− collider of the Frascati National Laboratories (Italy) of INFN, to investigate the antikaon-nuclei interaction at low energies. AMADEUS will perform, for the first time, full-acceptance studies of antikaon interaction in light nuclei, including a complete experimental program for the case of the kaonic nuclear clusters. The study of the absorption of antikaon by the nucleus will provide information concerning the \(\bar{K}N\) interaction and the modification of the kaon mass in the nuclear medium. The experiment is being preceded by the study of the hadronic interactions of K− in the 4He of the drift chamber from the KLOE experiment data.

International audience; The DAΦNE collider has been recently upgraded in order to implement a new collision scheme based on large Piwinski angle and cancellation of the synchro-betatron resonances by means of electromagnetic sextupoles (Crab-Waist compensation). The novel approach has proved to be effective in improving beam-beam interaction and collider luminosity. The results and the measurements taken during commissioning as well as the perspectives for the SIDDHARTA run are presented and discussed.

The strong interaction of antikaons (K-) with nucleons and nuclei in the low energy regime represents an active research field connected intrinsically with few-body physics. There are important open questions like the question of antikaon nuclear bound states - the prototype system being K-pp. A unique and rather direct experimental access to the antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths is provided by precision X-ray spectroscopy of transitions in low-lying states of light kaonic atoms like kaonic hydrogen isotopes. In the SIDDHARTA experiment at the electron-positron collider DA?NE of LNF-INFN we measured the most precise values of the strong interaction observables, i.e. the strong interaction on the 1s ground state of the electromagnetically bound K-p atom leading to a hadronic shift and a hadronic broadening of the 1s state. The SIDDHARTA result triggered new theoretical work which achieved major progress in the understanding of the low-energy strong interaction with strangeness. Antikaon-nucleon scattering lengths have been calculated constrained by the SIDDHARTA data on kaonic hydrogen. For the extraction of the isospin-dependent scattering lengths a measurement of the hadronic shift and width of kaonic deuterium is necessary. Therefore, new X-ray studies with the focus on kaonic deuterium are in preparation (SIDDHARTA2). Many improvements in the experimental setup will allow to measure kaonic deuterium which is challenging due to the anticipated low X-ray yield. Especially important are the data on the X-ray yields of kaonic deuterium extracted from a exploratory experiment within SIDDHARTA., Comment: Proc. Few Body 21, 4 pages, 2 figures

The AMADEUS experiment aims to provide unique quality data for K − interaction with nucleons and light nuclei, both at-rest and in-flight (for K − momenta of about 100 MeV). The goal is to solve longstanding open issues in the non-perturbative QCD in the strangeness sector, like the nature of the Λ(1405) state, the resonant versus non-resonant yield in nuclear K − capture and the properties of kaonic nuclear clusters which are strongly related to the multi-nucleon absorption processes. We can take advantage of the DA ΦNE collider representing a unique source of monochromatic low-momentum kaons, whose nuclear interaction with the materials of the KLOE detector (used as an active target) furnish us excellent acceptance and resolution data for K − capture on H, 4He, 9Be and 12C, both at-rest and in-flight. AMADEUS step 0 consisted in the analysis of the 2004-2005 KLOE data. A second step consisted in the implementation in the central region of the KLOE detector of a pure graphite target, providing a high statistic sample of K − 12 C nuclear captures at rest. For the future, new setups for various dedicated targets are under preparation.

The AMADEUS experiment deals with the investigation of the low-energy kaon-nuclei hadronic interaction at the DAΦNE collider at LNF-INFN, fundamental to respond to longstanding open questions in the non-perturbative QCD in the strangeness sector. One of the most interesting aspects is to understand how hadron masses and interactions change in the nuclear environment. The antikaon-nucleon potential is investigated searching for signals from possible bound kaonic clusters, which would imply a strongly attractive antikaon-nucleon potential. AMADEUS step 0 consists in the analysis of 2004/2005 KLOE data, exploring K − absorptions in H , 4 He , 9 Be and 12 C present in setup materials. The status of the various preliminary analyses is presented, together with future perspectives.

The advance in laser-plasma acceleration techniques pushes the regime of the resulting accelerated particles to higher energies and intensities. In particular, the upcoming experiments with the 250 TW laser at the FLAME facility of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, will enter the GeV regime with more than 100 pC of electrons. At the current status of understanding of the acceleration mechanism, relatively large angular and energy spreads are expected. There is therefore the need for developing a device capable to measure the energy of electrons over three orders of magnitude (few MeV to few GeV), with still unknown angular divergences. Within the PlasmonX experiment at FLAME, a spectrometer is being constructed to perform these measurements. It is made of an electro-magnet and a screen made of scintillating fibers for the measurement of the trajectories of the particles. The large range of operation, the huge number of particles and the need to focus the divergence, present challenges in the design and construction of such a device. We present the design considerations for this spectrometer that lead to the use of scintillating fibers, multichannel photo-multipliers and a multiplexing electronics, a combination which is innovative in the field. We also present the experimental results obtained with a high intensity electron beam performed on a prototype at the LNF beam test facility. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The advance in laser plasma acceleration techniques pushes the regime of the resulting accelerated particles to higher energies and intensities. In particular the upcoming experiments with the FLAME laser at LNF will enter the GeV regime with almost 1pC of electrons. From the current status of understanding of the acceleration mechanism, relatively large angular and energy spreads are expected. There is therefore the need to develop a device capable to measure the energy of electrons over three orders of magnitude (few MeV to few GeV) under still unknown angular divergences. Within the PlasmonX experiment at LNF a spectrometer is being constructed to perform these measurements. It is made of an electro-magnet and a screen made of scintillating fibers for the measurement of the trajectories of the particles. The large range of operation, the huge number of particles and the need to focus the divergence present unprecedented challenges in the design and construction of such a device. We will present the design considerations for this spectrometer and the first results from a prototype., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to NIM A

The AMADEUS experiment aims to provide unique quality data of $K^-$ hadronic interactions in light nuclear targets, in order to solve fundamental open questions in the non-perturbative strangeness QCD sector, like the controversial nature of the $\Lambda(1405)$ state, the yield of hyperon formation below threshold, the yield and shape of multi-nucleon $K^-$ absorption, processes which are intimately connected to the possible existence of exotic antikaon multi-nucleon clusters. AMADEUS takes advantage of the DA$\Phi$NE collider, which provides a unique source of monochromatic low-momentum kaons and exploits the KLOE detector as an active target, in order to obtain excellent acceptance and resolution data for $K^-$ nuclear capture on H, ${}^4$He, ${}^{9}$Be and ${}^{12}$C, both at-rest and in-flight. During the second half of 2012 a successful data taking was performed with a dedicated pure carbon target implemented in the central region of KLOE, providing a high statistic sample of pure at-rest $K^-$ nuclear interactions. For the future dedicated setups involving cryogenic gaseous targets are under preparation., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures

The AMADEUS experiment aims to perform dedicated precision studies in the sector of low-energy kaon-nuclei interaction at the DA\Phi NE collider at LNF-INFN. In particular the experiment plans to perform measurements of the debated deeply bound kaonic nuclear states (by stopping kaons in cryogenic gaseous targets 3He and 4He) to explore the nature of the \Lambda(1405) in nuclear environment and to measure the cross section of K- on light nuclei, for K- momentum lower than 100 MeV/c. The AMADEUS dedicated setup will be installed in the central region of the KLOE detector., Comment: 3 pages

The DAΦNE electron–positron collider at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati of INFN has made available a unique quality low-energy negative kaons “beam”, which is being used to unlock the secrets of the kaon–nucleon/nuclei interactions at low energies by the SIDDHARTA(-2) and the AMADEUS experiments. SIDDHARTA has already performed unprecedented precision measurements of kaonic atoms, and is being presently upgraded, as SIDDHARTA-2, to approach new frontiers. The AMADEUS experiment already started a data taking with a dedicated carbon target, plans to perform in the coming years precision measurements on kaon–nuclei interactions at low-energies, in particular to study the possible formation of kaonic nuclei and the Λ ( 1405 ) . The two experiments are briefly presented in this paper.

AMADEUS is an experiment planned to be performed at the DAFNE e+e− collider of the Frascati National Laboratories (Italy) of INFN, to investigate the antikaon‐nuclei interaction at low energies. AMADEUS will perform, for the first time, full‐acceptance studies of antikaon interaction in light nuclei, including a complete experimental program for the case of the kaonic clusters. The study of the absorption of antikaon by the nucleus will provide information concerning the K̄N interaction and the modification of the kaon mass in the nuclear medium. The experiment is being preceded by the study of the hadronic interactions of K− in the 4He of the drift chamber from the KLOE experiment data.

We have measured the K‐series x‐rays of kaonic hydrogen atoms to determine the strong‐interaction energy‐level shift and width of the 1s atomic state with significant improvements over the previous experiments. The measurement offers a unique possibility to precisely determine the complex K−p S‐wave scattering length. We have also measured kaonic x‐ray spectra with several gaseous targets : deuterium, helium‐3 and helium‐4. In this paper, we present an overview of this experiment and preliminary spectra of those kaonic x‐rays.

AMADEUS is an experiment planned to be performed at the DAΦNE e+e− collider of the Frascati National Laboratories (Italy) of INFN, to investigate the antikaon-nuclei interaction at low energies. AMADEUS will perform, for the first time, full-acceptance studies of antikaon interaction in light nuclei, including a complete experimental program for the case of the kaonic nuclear clusters. The study of the absorption of antikaon by the nucleus will provide information concerning the \(\bar{K}N\) interaction and the modification of the kaon mass in the nuclear medium. The experiment is being preceded by the study of the hadronic interactions of K− in the 4He of the drift chamber from the KLOE experiment data.

The Frascati Φ-Factory DAΦNE has been delivering luminosity to the KLOE, DEAR and FINUDA experiments since year 2000. During the current run for the KLOE experiment peak luminosity of 1.4 · 1032cm−2s−1 and integrated luminosity of 8.6pb−1/day have been achieved. The scientific program of the three high-energy experiments sharing DAΦNE operation will be completed approximately by the end of year 2007. A scientific program for DAΦNE beyond that date has not been defined yet and it is a matter of discussion in the high-energy physics and accelerator physics communities. In this paper we present some future scenarios for DAΦNE discussing the expected ultimate performances of the machine as it is now and addressing the design for an energy and/or luminosity upgrade. The options presented in the following are not exhaustive and they are intended to give a glance of what is doable using the existing infrastructures.

Beam operations at DAΦPNE restarted in October 2006 after a four months shut-down to remove the KLOE experimental detector and to install the FINUDA one. This period has been also used for maintenance and implementation of several upgrades. Already in the first two months of operation the peak and integrated luminosity exceeded the values obtained during the first FINUDA run by 20%, and have been steadily improving toward the end of the operation. By June 2007 ˜ 1 fb-1 integrated luminosity has been logged by the experiment. The collider performances during the run are presented together with the improvements obtained in terms of beam dynamics and beam-beam behaviour coming from several collider modifications.

The e+e- collider DAΦNE, a 1.02 GeV c.m. Φ-factory, has reached a peak luminosity of about 1.4×1032cm-2s-1and a peak integrated luminosity in one day of about 8.6 pb-1. With the current rates the physics program of the three main experiments DEAR, FINUDA and KLOE will be completed by the end of 2007. In this paper we describe in detail the steps which have led to the luminosity improvement and the options for the upgrade of the collider towards higher energy and/or luminosity.

An overview of DAΦNE, the Φ‐factory under construction at the INFN Frascati National Laboratory and the salient project features are presented.

An overview of the Frascati Phi -factory and the salient project features are presented. The engineering design of vacuum and magnetic components, diagnostics, power supplies of the accumulator ring and of the main rings is in progress. The main concern, at this time, is how to handle the multibunch instability that is the most harmful problem in the design of high current storage rings and the most serious limitation for the luminosity. The parasitic high-order modes of the RF cavities are responsible for such an instability. >

The DAΦNE electron-positron collider at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati of INFN, Italy has made available a unique quality low-energy negatively charged kaons "beam", which is used to unveil the secrets of the kaon-nucleon/nuclei interactions at low energies by the SIDDHARTA-2 and AMADEUS experiments. SIDDHARTA has already performed unprecedented precision measurements of kaonic atoms, and is being presently upgraded, as SIDDHARTA-2, to approach new frontiers. The AMADEUS experiment plans to perform in the coming years precision measurements on kaon-nuclei interactions at low-energies, to study the possible formation of kaonic nuclei, of the Λ(1405) and of many other processes involving strangeness. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013.

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., Proc of Hadron2011

The AMADEUS experiment aims to perform dedicated precision studies in the sector of low-energy kaon-nuclei interaction at the DA NE collider at LNF-INFN. In particular, the experiment plans to perform measurements of the debated deeply bound kaonic nuclear states, to deepen our knowledge about the controversial state (1405) and to measure the low energy cross section of K on light nuclei. AMADEUS will exploit the process of stopped kaons in cryogenic gaseous targets, measuring both charged and neutral particles produced in a 4 geometry, so performing a full study of the various inter- action channels. Taking advantage of the fact that the KLOE drift chamber is mainly filled with 4 He (90% helium 10% isobutane) according to Monte Carlo simulations about 0.1% of kaons from DA NE should stop in the inner volume of the drift chamber; the analysis of the existing KLOE data (run from 2002 to 2005) is presently going on, searching for hadronic interactions of K in such an active target. The AMADEUS physics program and preliminary results from the analysis of KLOE data will be discussed.

The \(\overline{K}N\) system at rest plays a key role for the understanding of strong interaction of hadrons with strangeness involved. The experiment SIDDHARTA used X-ray spectroscopy of kaonic atoms to measure the strong interaction induced shift and width of the ground state. It was the first experiment on kaonic He3 and deuterium ever, kaonic hydrogen was measured with improved precision resulting in \(\epsilon_{1s} = -283 \pm 36 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 6 \mbox{(syst)}\) eV and \(\Gamma_{1s} = 541 \pm 89 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 22 \mbox{(syst)}\) eV. Additionally a scheme for an improved future experiment on kaonic deuterium is introduced in this contribution.

While the main advances in the standard model probing require the construction of very high-energy colliders, many open questions still remain which can be answered by exploring low and medium energy regions. In this framework we are investigating the possibility of upgrading the /spl phi/-factory DA/spl phi/NE from the energy of 1.02 GeV c.m. up to the neutron-antineutron threshold (about 2 GeV c.m.) using the existing systems and structures. The luminosity required by the experiments for a light quark factory is of the order of few 10/sup 31/ cm/sup -2/ s/sup -1/, easily achievable in the particle factory era. The very first results of the feasibility study are presented.

DA/spl Phi/NE, the Frascati LNF /spl Phi/-factory, is providing luminosity for the KLOE experiment since July 2000. A steady increase of daily integrated luminosity in KLOE has been obtained, due to interspersed machine physics studies. The main results are: increase of single bunch luminosity by reduction of the effects of nonlinear terms in the machine, background reduction, refill of the colliding beams while keeping the KLOE detector taking data and increase of stable stored current. A fraction of machine time has been used to tune luminosity and reduce background in the DEAR configuration. The luminosity delivered to DEAR was sufficient to conclude the first phase of the experiment.