Search

PAX (antiProtonic Atom X-ray spectroscopy) is a new experiment with the aim to test strong-field quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects by performing high-precision x-ray spectroscopy of antiprotonic atoms. By utilizing advanced microcalorimeter detection techniques and a low-energy antiproton beam provided by the ELENA ring at CERN, gaseous targets will be used for the creation of antiprotonic atoms, and the measurement of transitions between circular Rydberg states will be conducted with up to two orders of magnitude improved accuracy over previous studies using high-purity germanium detectors. Our approach eliminates the longstanding issue of nuclear uncertainties that have hindered prior studies using highly charged ions, thus enabling direct and purely QED-focused measurements. By precisely probing atomic systems with electric fields up to two orders of magnitude above the Schwinger limit, PAX will test vacuum polarization and second-order QED corrections, opening new frontiers in fundamental physics and uncovering potential pathways to physics beyond the Standard Model.

We propose a high-precision x-ray spectroscopy experiment of antiprotonic atoms to advance the understanding of low-energy antinucleon-nucleus interactions. The current leading model of antiproton-nucleus interactions is based on an optical potential with parameters derived from a global fit to antiprotonic atom x-ray data across the periodic table. However, the isovector parameter of this potential remains poorly constrained due to uncertainties in nucleon distributions of the nuclei. To address this, we propose to use calcium isotopes with well-studied nucleon distributions to minimize these uncertainties. A superconducting microcalorimeter detector will provide a resolution of 50-70 eV in the energy range of interest, allowing high precision determination of the isotope-dependent strong-interaction shifts and widths. The outcomes of the proposed experiment can be used to refine the model of antinucleon-nucleus interactions and provide critical data for future experiments searching for neutron-antineutron oscillations., Comment: Contribution to EXA-LEAP2024 proceedings

We study theoretically the feasibility of the semi-exclusive $^{12}$C($p,dp$)$X$ reaction for the observation of $\eta^\prime$ mesic nuclei using the transport model JAM. The semi-exclusive measurements of the ($p,d$) reaction with protons from $\eta^\prime$ non-mesonic two-body absorption ($\eta^\prime NN \to NN$) are found to be critically important for the observation of the $\eta^\prime$ bound states. The Green's function method is used to calculate the momentum spectrum of forward going deuterons corresponding to the excitation energy spectrum of the $\eta^\prime \otimes {}^{11}$C system in the semi-exclusive measurement. The semi-exclusive measurements are considered to be important in general for the $\eta^\prime$ mesic nucleus formation., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

A real-time beam profile monitoring system is proposed for GeV photon beams at the BM4 beamline of the Mikamine site, Research Center for Accelerator and Radioisotope Science (RARiS; previously known as ELPH) at Tohoku University. This monitoring system enhances the capability to monitor the entire beamline by incorporating newly developed beam profile monitors (BPMs) for upstream and midstream sections, in addition to the existing high-speed BPM used for downstream monitoring. This paper reports on the detection mechanisms of the newly developed BPMs and the actual measurement results obtained using the integrated beam monitoring system. The new BPMs are composed of plastic scintillation fibers and silicon photomultipliers, enabling high-precision, real-time measurements. Data acquisition utilizes streaming TDC, a firmware commonly employed in the J-PARC Hadron-hall, allowing real-time detection of high-intensity photon beams with count rates reaching several tens of MHz. With sufficient statistical data, the BPM achieved a 1-s beam-profiling accuracy of 10 {\mu}m. The proposed BPM system serves as a valuable resource for future physics experiments at the BM4 photon beamline and will significantly contribute to ongoing accelerator research endeavors.

Background: The existence of a tetraneutron comprising four neutrons has long been debated. Purpose: Motivated by a recent observation of particle-stable tetraneutrons, we investigated potential particle-stable tetraneutron emission in thermal neutron-induced $^{235}$U fission using a nuclear research reactor. Methods: We performed $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy for a $^{88}$SrCO$_3$ sample irradiated in a reactor core. Stable $^{88}$Sr was expected to produce $^{91}$Sr by a tetraneutron-induced ($^4n$,n) reaction; hence, observation of $\gamma$-rays followed by $\beta$ decay of $^{91}$Sr would indicate particle-stable tetraneutron emission. Results: The $\gamma$-ray spectrum of an irradiated $^{88}$SrCO$_3$ sample did not show any photopeak for $^{91}$Sr. Conclusion: The emission rate of particle-stable tetraneutrons, if they exist, is estimated to be lower than $8\times 10^{-7}$ per fission at the 95% confidence level, assuming the cross-sections of reactions induced by hypothetical particle-stable tetraneutrons., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. C

Modern theories of physics tell that the vacuum is not an empty space. Hidden in the vacuum is a structure of anti-quarks $\bar{q}$ and quarks $q$. The $\bar{q}$ and $q$ pair has the same quantum number as the vacuum and condensates in it since the strong interaction of the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is too strong to leave it empty. The $\bar{q}q$ condensation breaks the chiral symmetry of the vacuum. The expectation value $<\bar{q}q>$ is an order parameter. For higher temperature or higher matter-density, $|<\bar{q}q>|$ decreases reflecting the restoration of the symmetry. In contrast to these clear-cut arguments, experimental evidence is so far limited. First of all, the $\bar{q}q$ is nothing but the vacuum itself. It is neither visible nor perceptible. In this article, we unravel this invisible existence by high precision measurement of pionic atoms, $\pi^-$-meson-nucleus bound systems. Using the $\pi^-$ as a probe, we demonstrate that $|<\bar{q}q>|$ is reduced in the nucleus at 58% of the normal nuclear density by a factor of 77 $\pm$ 2% compared with that in the vacuum. This reduction indicates that the chiral symmetry is partially restored due to the extremely high density of the nucleus. The present experimental result clearly exhibits the existence of the hidden structure, the chiral condensate, in the vacuum.

The J-PARC Hadron Experimental Facility was constructed with an aim to explore the origin and evolution of matter in the universe through the experiments with intense particle beams. In the past decade, many results on particle and nuclear physics have been obtained at the present facility. To expand the physics programs to unexplored regions never achieved, the extension project of the Hadron Experimental Facility has been extensively discussed. This white paper presents the physics of the extension of the Hadron Experimental Facility for resolving the issues in the fields of the strangeness nuclear physics, hadron physics, and flavor physics., Comment: 261 pages, 186 figures

A hypothesis is proposed herein, suggesting that a pion-nuclear resonance may be observed in the $\alpha+d\to{}^6\mathrm{Li}(3.563)+\pi^0$ reaction. The resonance has a $\pi NN\alpha$ structure, containing $\alpha NN$ and $\pi NN$ subsystems. The former corresponds to the $A=6$ isotriplet ($^6\mathrm{He}_\text{g.s.}$, $^6\mathrm{Li}(3.563)$, $^6\mathrm{Be}_\text{g.s.}$), whereas the latter is a hypothetical $NN$-decoupled dibaryon. We propose an experiment to search for this resonance using the $^7\mathrm{Li}(p,d)$ reaction., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures; accepted for publication in PTEP

We study theoretically the structure of double pionic atoms, in which two negatively charged pions ($\pi^-$) are bound in the atomic orbits. The double pionic atom is considered to be an interesting system from the point of view of the multi bosonic systems. In addition, it could be possible to deduce valuable information on the isospin $I = 2$ $\pi\pi$ interaction and the pion-nucleus strong interaction. In this paper, we take into account the $\pi\pi$ strong and electromagnetic interactions, and evaluate the effects on the binding energies by perturbation theory for the double pionic atoms in heavy nuclei. We investigate several combinations of two pionic states and find that the order of magnitude of the energy shifts due to the $\pi\pi$ interaction is around 10 keV for the strong interaction and around 100 keV for the electromagnetic interaction for the ground states., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables

We theoretically investigate a possibility of an $\eta ^{\prime} d$ bound state and its formation in the $\gamma d \to \eta d$ reaction. First, in the fixed center approximation to the Faddeev equations we obtain an $\eta ^{\prime} d$ bound state with a binding energy of 25 MeV and width of 19 MeV, where we take the $\eta ^{\prime} N$ interaction with a coupling to the $\eta N$ channel from the linear $\sigma$ model. Then, in order to investigate the feasibility from an experimental point of view, we calculate the cross section of the $\gamma d \to \eta d$ reaction at the photon energy in the laboratory frame around 1.2 GeV. As a result, we find a clear peak structure with the strength $\sim$ 0.2 nb/sr, corresponding to a signal of the $\eta ^{\prime} d$ bound state in case of backward $\eta$ emission. This structure will be prominent because a background contribution coming from single-step $\eta$ emission off a bound nucleon is highly suppressed. In addition, the signal can be seen even in case of forward $\eta$ emission as a bump or dip, depending on the relative phase between the bound-state formation and the single-step background., Comment: 9 pages, 13 eps figures, version accepted for publication in PRC, description of the discussion part is improved

The committee for the study of the extension of the Hadron Experimental Facility was formed under the Hadron Hall Users' Association in August, 2015. This document is a summary of the discussions among the committee members, and documented by a part of the members listed below., Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, Hadron Users' Association Home Page: http://www.rcnp.osaka-u.ac.jp/~jparchua/en/index.html

Tetraneutron ($^4n$) has come back in the limelight, because of recent observation of a candidate resonant state at RIBF. We propose to investigate the pion double charge exchange (DCX) reaction, i.e. $^4\mathrm{He}({\pi}^- , {\pi}^+)$, as an alternative way to populate tetraneutron. An intense ${\pi}^-$ beam with the kinetic energy of ~850 MeV, much higher than that in past experiments at LAMPF and TRIUMF, will open up a possibility to improve the experimental sensitivity of the formation cross section, which will be much smaller than hitherto known DCX cross sections such as $^9\mathrm{Be}({\pi}^-, {\pi}^+)^9\mathrm{He}\ (g.s.)$., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon (MENU2016), Kyoto, Japan, 25-30 July 2016

We have observed a "$K^-pp$"-like structure in the $d(\pi^+,K^+)$ reaction at 1.69 GeV/$c$. In this reaction $\Lambda(1405)$ hyperon resonance is expected to be produced as a doorway to form the $K^-pp$ through the $\Lambda^*p\rightarrow K^-pp$ process. However, most of the produced $\Lambda(1405)$'s would escape from deuteron without secondary reactions. Therefore, coincidence of high-momentum ($>$ 250~MeV/$c$) proton(s) in large emission angles ($39^\circ<\theta_{lab.}<122^\circ$) was requested to enhance the signal-to-background ratio. A broad enhancement in the proton coincidence spectra are observed around the missing-mass of 2.27 GeV/$c^2$, which corresponds to the $K^-pp$ binding energy of 95 $^{+18}_{-17}$ (stat.) $^{+30}_{-21}$ (syst.) MeV and the width of 162 $^{+87}_{-45}$ (stat.) $^{+66}_{-78}$ (syst.) MeV., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PTEP

An experiment to search for the $K^-pp$ bound state was performed via the in-flight $^3$He($K^-,n)$ reaction using 5.3 $\times$ $10^9$ kaons at 1 GeV/$c$ at the J-PARC hadron experimental facility. In the semi-inclusive neutron missing-mass spectrum at $\theta_{n}^{lab}=0^\circ$, no significant peak was observed in the region corresponding to $K^-pp$ binding energy larger than 80 MeV, where a bump structure has been reported in the $\Lambda p$ final state in different reactions. Assuming the state to be isotropically decaying into $\Lambda p$, mass-dependent upper limits on the production cross section were determined to be 30--180, 70--250, and 100--270 $\mu$b/sr, for the natural widths of 20, 60, and 100 MeV, respectively, at 95\% confidence level., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures

We have measured an inclusive missing-mass spectrum of the $d(\pi^+, K^+)$ reaction at the pion incident momentum of 1.69 GeV/$c$ at the laboratory scattering angles between 2$^\circ$ and 16$^\circ$ with the missing-mass resolution of 2.7 $\pm$ 0.1 MeV/$c^2$ (FWHM) at the missing mass of 2.27 GeV/$c^{2}$. In this Letter, we first try to understand the spectrum as a simple quasi-free picture based on several known elementary cross sections, considering the neutron/proton Fermi motion in deuteron. While gross spectrum structures are well understood in this picture, we have observed two distinct deviations; one peculiar enhancement at 2.13 GeV/$c^2$ is due to the $\Sigma N$ cusp, and the other notable feature is a shift of a broad bump structure, mainly originating from hyperon resonance productions of $\Lambda(1405)$ and $\Sigma(1385)^{+/0}$, by about 22.4 $\pm$ 0.4 (stat.) $^{+2.7}_{-1.7}$ (syst.) MeV/$c^2$ toward the low-mass side, which is calculated in the kinematics of a proton at rest as the target., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PTEP

We are going to perform an inclusive spectroscopy experiment of eta' mesic nuclei with the 12C(p,d) reaction to study in-medium properties of the eta' meson. In nuclear medium, the eta' meson mass may be reduced due to partial restoration of chiral symmetry. In case of sufficiently large mass reduction and small absorption width of eta' at normal nuclear density, peak structures of eta' mesic states in 11C will be observed near the eta' emission threshold even in an inclusive spectrum. The experiment will be carried out at GSI with proton beam supplied by SIS using FRS as a spectrometer. The detail of the experiment is described., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of FB20 (20th International IUPAP Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics), 20-25 August 2012, Fukuoka, Japan

The eta' meson mass may be reduced due to partial restoration of chiral symmetry. If this is the case, an eta'-nucleus system may form a nuclear bound state. We plan to carry out a missing-mass spectroscopy with the 12C(p,d) reaction at GSI-SIS. Peak structures corresponding to such a bound state may be observed even in an inclusive measurement, if the decay width is narrow enough., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of MESON2012 (12th International Workshop on Meson Production, Properties and Interaction), Krakow, Poland

A new spectrometer system was designed and constructed at the secondary beam line K1.8BR in the hadron hall of J-PARC to investigate $\bar K N$ interactions and $\bar K$-nuclear bound systems. The spectrometer consists of a high precision beam line spectrometer, a liquid $^3$He/$^4$He/D$_2$ target system, a Cylindrical Detector System that surrounds the target to detect the decay particles from the target region, and a neutron time-of-flight counter array located $\sim$15 m downstream from the target position. Details of the design, construction, and performance of the detector components are described., Comment: 33 pages, 25 figures

A novel method is proposed to measure eta'(958) meson bound states in 11C nuclei by missing mass spectroscopy of the 12C(p,d) reaction near the eta' production threshold. It is shown that peak structures will be observed experimentally in an inclusive measurement in case that the in-medium eta' mass reduction is sufficiently large and that the decay width of eta' mesic states is narrow enough. Such a measurement will be feasible with the intense proton beam supplied by the SIS synchrotron at GSI combined with the good energy resolution of the fragment separator FRS., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Progress of Theoretical Physics