Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Lambda-Hyperon'

The thesis comprises investigations of two topics related to the PANDA experiment. The first part is dedicated to energy resolution and light yield uniformity studies of PWO crystals for the electromagnetic calorimeter. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to simulation studies of the p̅p→Λ̅Λ and the p̅p→Λ̅Σ0 channels. Photon response measurements with one 3×3 crystals matrix of rectangular crystals and one 5×5 matrix with tapered crystals have been performed at the MAX-Lab synchrotron facility in Lund, Sweden. Photon energies in the range of 13-84 MeV were used. GEANT4 simulations were performed in order to find the most suitable method for adding the energy contributions and for calibration purposes. The widths, σ, of the resulting experimental summed energy peaks were fitted using the Novosibirsk distribution. The results show that the electromagnetic shower at 84 MeV is completely contained in the 5×5 matrix. The widths (σ) for the summed energy peaks were determined.Studies of the uniformity of the light yield were performed for crystals of three different shapes and different wrapping materials. The light yield as a function of distance between the point of energy depositions and the PM tube, was shown to be closely related to the crystal shape and the wrapping material. The p̅p→Λ̅Λ channel was studies at beam momenta of 1.64 GeV/c, 4 GeV/c and 15 GeV/c, while p̅p→Λ̅Σ0 was studied at 4 GeV/c. In the simulations, both phase space differential cross-sections and experimental differential cross-sections from PS185 were used as input. The purpose of the simulations was to show that the reaction channels can be reconstructed in the detector. Special interest was paid to the polarisation and spin correlations of the hyperons. The result is that there is acceptance of cosθ angular range over the full momentum range of the HESR for both channels. Using isotropic differential cross-sections, the polarisation for Λ̅ and Σ0 as well as spin correlations between Λ̅Λ and Λ̅Σ0 can be well reconstructed. Using the differential cross-sections from PS185, the particles are more likely to go forwards in their respective directions in the CM-system, thus making reconstruction over the full angular range more difficult at high beam momenta.

The parity violating weak decay of hyperons offers a valuable means of measuring their polarization, providing insight into the production of strange quarks and the matter they compose. Jefferson Lab’s CLAS collaboration has utilized this property of hyperons, publishing the most precise polarization measurements for the Λ and Σ in both photoproduction and electroproduction to date. In contrast, cascades, which contain two strange quarks, can only be produced through indirect processes and as a result, exhibit low cross sections thus remaining experimentally elusive. At present, there are two aspects in cascade physics where progress has been minimal: characterizing their production mechanism, which lacks theoretical and experimental developments, and observation of the numerous excited cascade resonances that are required to exist by flavor SU(3)F symmetry. However, CLAS data were collected in 2008 with a luminosity of 68 pb−1 using a circularly polarized photon beam with energies up to 5.45 GeV, incident on a liquid hydrogen target. This dataset is, at present, the world’s largest for meson photoproduction in its energy range and provides a unique opportunity to study cascade physics with polarization measurements. The current analysis explores hyperon production through the γp → K+K+Ξ− reaction by providing the first ever determination of spin observables P, Cx and Cz for the cascade. Three of our primary goals are to test the only cascade photoproduction model in existence, examine the underlying processes that give rise to hyperon polarization, and to stimulate future theoretical developments while providing constraints for their parameters. Our research is part of a broader program to understand the production of strange quarks and hadrons with strangeness. The remainder of this document discusses the motivation behind such research, the method of data collection, details of their analysis, and the significance of our results.

We introduce and examine the analytic properties of the three electromagnetic transition form factors of the Sigma*-Lambda hyperon transition. In the first part of the thesis, we discuss the interaction Lagrangian for the hyperons at hand. We calculate the decay rate of the Dalitz decay  Sigma* Lambda -> e+e- in the one-photon approximation in terms of the form factors, as well as the differential cross section of the scattering e+e- -> Sigma*bar Lambda in the one-photon approximation. In the second part of the thesis, we build up the machinery for calculation of the form factors using dispersion relations, performing an analytic continuation from the timelike, q2 > 0, to the spacelike, q2 < 0, region of the virtual photon invariant mass q2. Due to an anomalous cut in the triangle diagram arising from a two-pion saturation of the photon-hyperon vertex, there is an additional term in the dispersive integral. We use the scalar three-point function as a model for the examination of the dispersive approach with the anomalous cut. The one-loop diagram is calculated both directly and using dispersion relations. After comparison of the two methods, they are found to coincide when the anomalous contribution is added to the dispersive integral in the case of the octet Sigma exchange. By examination of the branch points of the logarithm in the discontinuity, we deduce the structure of the Riemann surface of the unitarity cut and present trajectories of the branch points. The result of our analysis of the analytic structure yields a correct dispersive relation for the electromagnetic transition form factors. This opens the way for the calculation of these form factors in the low-energy region for both space- and timelike q2. As an outlook, we present preliminary calculations for the hyperon-pion scattering amplitude using the unitarity and the anomalous contribution in a once-subtracted dispersion relation. Finally we present the corresponding preliminary unsubtracted dispersive calculations for the form factors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2003.<br>In title: bracketed [Xi] is the Greek symbol; [Lambda] is the Greek symbol. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-88). Also available online through Digital Dissertations.

Zur Erforschung des Verhaltens der Kernmaterie wurde mit dem Dielektronen-Spektrometer HADES am GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt unter anderem die Reaktion p + Nb bei 3,5 GeV kinetischer Strahlenergie untersucht. Obwohl HADES primär für den Nachweis seltener leptonischer Zerfälle der Vektormesonen ρ, ω und φ konzipiert wurde, eignet sich das Spektrometer aufgrund seiner präzisen Spurrekonstruktion auch für die Untersuchung von hadronischen Kanälen. Zum Studium der Strangeness-Signaturen in der Reaktion p + Nb wird in dieser Arbeit der im Jahr 2008 aufgezeichnete Datensatz von ca. 4,2 Milliarden Kollisionen hinsichtlich der Produktion und der dabei auftretenden Polarisation von Λ-Hyperonen untersucht. Die polarisierte Produktion von Hyperonen in Kernreaktionen mit unpolarisierten Ausgangsteilchen wurde entgegen den theoretischen Erwartungen erstmals 1976 beobachtet und fand bis heute keine allgemein akzeptierte und alle beobachteten Abhängigkeiten umfassende Erklärung auf Grundlage der starken Wechselwirkung. Es werden zunächst die theoretischen Modelle der Hyperonpolarisation diskutiert und der experimentelle Zugang erklärt. Dieser gelingt über den schwachen Zerfall des Λ-Hyperons, der als natürliches Polarimeter wirkt und somit insbesondere in Reaktionen mit unpolarisierten Nukleonen ein ideales Instrument zur Untersuchung der Polarisation darstellt. Aufgrund der großen Raumwinkelabdeckung ermöglicht HADES, Λ-Hyperonen in einem weiten Phasenraumbereich zu rekonstruieren, sodass deren Produktionsrate und Polarisation in Abhängigkeit der Observablen Transversalimpuls pt und Rapidität y analysiert werden. Aus insgesamt 1,1 Millionen rekonstruierten Λ-Hyperonen werden nach der Korrektur bezüglich der Detektorakzeptanz und -effizienz transversale Massenspektren extrahiert. Deren inverser Steigungsparameter TB (y) nimmt ein Maximum von rund 90 MeV bei y = 1, d.h. unterhalb der Schwerpunktsrapidität im Nukleon-Nukleon-Stoß (ycm = 1,12), an und fällt zu kleinen Rapiditäten deutlich schneller ab als für Teilchen im thermischen Gleichgewicht. Die Λ-Rapiditätsdichte zeigt eine asymmetrische Verteilung, die aufgrund von Mehrfachstreuung der Λ-Hyperonen hauptsächlich mit Kern-Nukleonen deutlich zur Targetrapidität verschoben ist und mit steigender Rapidität > 0,3 stark abnimmt. Auf den vollständigen Phasenraum extrapoliert, erfüllt die Produktionsrate von 0,018 ± 0,004 Λ-0 Hyperons je Ereignis, verbunden mit der Multiplizität von Ks -Mesonen und den mittels Transportmodell abgeleiteten Produktionsverhältnissen zu den übrigen Kaonen und Hyperonen, die Strangeness-Erhaltung im Mittel der gemessenen Kollisionen. Darüber hinaus zeigt das Λ-Hyperon eine signifikant negative Polarisation relativ zur Normalen seiner Produktionsebene, die über den verfügbaren Phasenraum gemittelt Px = (−10,6 ± 1,3) % beträgt und deren Betrag mit steigendem Transversalimpuls entsprechend Px (pt ) = (−0,19 ± 0,02) (GeV/c)−1 pt linear zunimmt. Die Ergebnisse bezüglich der Λ-Polarisation und Phasenraumverteilung werden mit denen anderer Experimente ähnlicher Stoßsysteme verglichen und im Rahmen von systematischen Untersuchungen mit Transportmodellen interpretiert, um Details zur Dynamik der Hyperon-Produktion in Proton-Kern-Reaktionen abzuleiten. Derzeit verfügbare Versionen der GiBUU- und UrQMD-Modelle können die experimentellen Verteilungen im Phasenraum jedoch nicht hinreichend reproduzieren. Mit der Rekonstruktion von Ξ− -Hyperonen und φ-Mesonen wird ein Ausblick auf weiterführende Studien zur Strangeness-Produktion in Nukleon-Kern-Stößen gegeben.:1 Einleitung 11 1.1 Struktur der Materie 11 1.2 Schwellennahe Erzeugung von Hadronen mit Strangeness 13 1.3 Modellbeschreibungen der Strangeness-Produktion 15 1.4 Untersuchung von Kernmaterie in Nukleon-Kern-Reaktionen 19 1.5 Zielsetzung und Gliederung der Arbeit 20 2 Hyperonpolarisation 23 2.1 Experimentelle Beobachtungen 23 2.2 Modellbeschreibungen 25 2.2.1 SU(6)-Modell 25 2.2.2 s-Quark-Streumodell 27 2.2.3 Lund-Modell (Farb-Flussröhre) 28 2.2.4 Rekombinationsmodell (Thomas-Präzession) 28 2.2.5 Quantenmechanische Modelle 29 2.3 Der selbstanalysierende Λ-Zerfall als Spin-Polarimeter 30 3 Experimentiersystem HADES und Analysewerkzeuge 33 3.1 Komponenten zur Teilchenidentifikation 35 3.2 Magnetspektrometer 37 3.3 Datenerfassung und -verarbeitung 43 3.4 Analyse- und Simulationssoftware 45 3.5 Transportmodelle 46 4 Datenanalyse zur Reaktion p + Nb 51 4.1 Charakteristika des Experiments 51 4.2 Teilchenidentifikation 55 4.2.1 Flugzeitmethode 56 4.2.2 Energieverlustmethode 58 4.3 Rekonstruktion des Λ-Hyperons 60 4.3.1 Teilchenselektion bezüglich des Energieverlustes 61 4.3.2 Invariantes Massenspektrum 62 4.3.3 Zerfallsgeometrie 65 4.3.4 Vertexrekonstruktion 66 4.3.5 Determination des kombinatorischen Untergrundes 69 4.3.6 Differentielle Analyse bezüglich des Phasenraums 73 4.4 Rekonstruktion des Ξ -Hyperons 77 4.5 Effizienz- und Akzeptanzbestimmung mittels Detektorsimulation 82 4.5.1 Selbstkonsistenz der Simulation 86 4.5.2 Überprüfung der Vertexrekonstruktion 89 4.5.3 Rekonstruktion der Zerfallslänge 91 4.5.4 Normierung der Produktionsrate 93 4.5.5 Differentielle Produktionsrate der Λ-Hyperonen 95 4.6 Messung der Λ-Polarisation 97 4.6.1 Referenzkoordinatensystem 97 4.6.2 Akzeptanzkorrektur 99 4.6.3 Bestimmung der mittleren Polarisation 101 4.6.4 Differentielle Untersuchung der Polarisation 104 5 Diskussion der Ergebnisse 5.1 Λ-Phasenraumverteilung 109 5.1.1 Transversalimpulsverteilungen 110 5.1.2 Extrapolation der transversalen Impulsspektren 113 5.1.3 Systematische Unsicherheiten 114 5.1.4 Vergleich mit Vorhersagen von Transportmodellen 117 5.1.5 Λ-Produktionsmechanismen im BUU-Modell 121 5.1.6 Vergleich mit Ergebnissen anderer Experimente 124 5.2 Strangeness-Erhaltung 131 5.3 Λ-Polarisation 134 5.3.1 Phasenraumabhängigkeit der Polarisation 135 5.3.2 Einordnung der Ergebnisse in den vorhanden Weltdatensatz 139 6 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 143 A Anhang A.1 Definition teilchenphysikalischer Variablen 149 A.2 Effizienzkorrektur für Λ-Hyperonen 153 A.3 Simulationen mit Transportmodellen 154 A.3.1 Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) 154 A.3.2 Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (GiBUU) 157 A.3.2.1 Eingangsparameter 157 A.3.2.2 Systematische Untersuchung der Λ-Produktion 159 A.3.3 Implementierung elementarer Wirkungsquerschnitte 167 Abbildungsverzeichnis 169 Tabellenverzeichnis 172 Literaturverzeichnis 173<br>With the dielectron spectrometer HADES, located at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, p + Nb reactions at a kinetic beam energy of 3.5 GeV were measured to study the behavior of nuclear matter. Although primarily designed for the detection of rare leptonic decays of the light vector mesons ρ, ω and φ, the spectrometer renders itself very well suited for the investigation of hadrons, due to its excellent tracking capability. This thesis presents results of the production and polarization of strange Λ hyperons in about 4.2 billion reactions of p + Nb recorded in 2008. In contrast to theoretical expectations, the polarized production of hyperons was observed in 1976 for the first time in nuclear reactions with unpolarized beams. Based on the fundamental properties of strong interaction, to date no single explanation exists describing all dependencies of the observed hyperon polarization. Therefore, common theoretical models of hyperon polarization are introduced. Acting as a natural polarimeter, the Λ hyperon represents an excellent tool to study the phenomenon of hyperon polarization especially in reactions with unpolarized beams and targets. Hence, the experimental technique for extracting the polarization using the weak decay of the Λ hyperon is explained. Due to a large solid angle coverage, HADES allows for the reconstruction of hadrons within a wide phase space range. Consequently, a double-differential analysis of the polarization and production probability as a function of transverse momentum pt and rapidity y is performed. In total, 1.1 million Λ hyperons are reconstructed and corrected for detector acceptance and efficiency. The inverse slope parameter TB is extracted from transverse mass spectra. Its rapidity dependence TB (y) shows a maximum of 90 MeV at y = 1, i.e. below the center-of-mass rapidity of the nucleon-nucleon collision ycm = 1.12, and a stronger decrease to lower rapidities than particles in thermal equilibrium. The Λ rapidity density shows an asymmetric distribution, shifted towards target rapidity, which is probably caused by multiple scattering on target nucleons. Extrapolated to the full phase space, the total multiplicity of 0.018 ± 0.004 Λ hyperons per event satisfies strangeness conservati- 0 on on average. For that purpose, the Ks production rate from another analysis and ratios to the other, unmeasured, strange hadrons, derived from transport simulations, are taken into account. Furthermore, the Λ hyperon shows a significant negative polarization perpendicular to its production plane, which amounts to Px = (−10.6 ± 1.3) % averaged over the phase space accessible to HADES. The measured Λ polarization increases almost linearly with increasing transverse momentum pt , according to Px (pt ) = (−0.19 ± 0.02) (GeV/c)−1 pt . In order to spot details on the dynamics of hyperon production in proton-nucleus reactions, the results on Λ polarization and phase space distribution are compared to those of similar reactions. Additionally, a systematic investigation with transport model simulations is performed. The experimental distributions can not be reproduced sufficiently well by the presently available GiBUU and URQMD models. Moreover, an outlook on further studies of strangeness production in nucleon-nucleus collisions by reconstruction of Ξ− hyperons and φ mesons is given.:1 Einleitung 11 1.1 Struktur der Materie 11 1.2 Schwellennahe Erzeugung von Hadronen mit Strangeness 13 1.3 Modellbeschreibungen der Strangeness-Produktion 15 1.4 Untersuchung von Kernmaterie in Nukleon-Kern-Reaktionen 19 1.5 Zielsetzung und Gliederung der Arbeit 20 2 Hyperonpolarisation 23 2.1 Experimentelle Beobachtungen 23 2.2 Modellbeschreibungen 25 2.2.1 SU(6)-Modell 25 2.2.2 s-Quark-Streumodell 27 2.2.3 Lund-Modell (Farb-Flussröhre) 28 2.2.4 Rekombinationsmodell (Thomas-Präzession) 28 2.2.5 Quantenmechanische Modelle 29 2.3 Der selbstanalysierende Λ-Zerfall als Spin-Polarimeter 30 3 Experimentiersystem HADES und Analysewerkzeuge 33 3.1 Komponenten zur Teilchenidentifikation 35 3.2 Magnetspektrometer 37 3.3 Datenerfassung und -verarbeitung 43 3.4 Analyse- und Simulationssoftware 45 3.5 Transportmodelle 46 4 Datenanalyse zur Reaktion p + Nb 51 4.1 Charakteristika des Experiments 51 4.2 Teilchenidentifikation 55 4.2.1 Flugzeitmethode 56 4.2.2 Energieverlustmethode 58 4.3 Rekonstruktion des Λ-Hyperons 60 4.3.1 Teilchenselektion bezüglich des Energieverlustes 61 4.3.2 Invariantes Massenspektrum 62 4.3.3 Zerfallsgeometrie 65 4.3.4 Vertexrekonstruktion 66 4.3.5 Determination des kombinatorischen Untergrundes 69 4.3.6 Differentielle Analyse bezüglich des Phasenraums 73 4.4 Rekonstruktion des Ξ -Hyperons 77 4.5 Effizienz- und Akzeptanzbestimmung mittels Detektorsimulation 82 4.5.1 Selbstkonsistenz der Simulation 86 4.5.2 Überprüfung der Vertexrekonstruktion 89 4.5.3 Rekonstruktion der Zerfallslänge 91 4.5.4 Normierung der Produktionsrate 93 4.5.5 Differentielle Produktionsrate der Λ-Hyperonen 95 4.6 Messung der Λ-Polarisation 97 4.6.1 Referenzkoordinatensystem 97 4.6.2 Akzeptanzkorrektur 99 4.6.3 Bestimmung der mittleren Polarisation 101 4.6.4 Differentielle Untersuchung der Polarisation 104 5 Diskussion der Ergebnisse 5.1 Λ-Phasenraumverteilung 109 5.1.1 Transversalimpulsverteilungen 110 5.1.2 Extrapolation der transversalen Impulsspektren 113 5.1.3 Systematische Unsicherheiten 114 5.1.4 Vergleich mit Vorhersagen von Transportmodellen 117 5.1.5 Λ-Produktionsmechanismen im BUU-Modell 121 5.1.6 Vergleich mit Ergebnissen anderer Experimente 124 5.2 Strangeness-Erhaltung 131 5.3 Λ-Polarisation 134 5.3.1 Phasenraumabhängigkeit der Polarisation 135 5.3.2 Einordnung der Ergebnisse in den vorhanden Weltdatensatz 139 6 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 143 A Anhang A.1 Definition teilchenphysikalischer Variablen 149 A.2 Effizienzkorrektur für Λ-Hyperonen 153 A.3 Simulationen mit Transportmodellen 154 A.3.1 Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (UrQMD) 154 A.3.2 Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (GiBUU) 157 A.3.2.1 Eingangsparameter 157 A.3.2.2 Systematische Untersuchung der Λ-Produktion 159 A.3.3 Implementierung elementarer Wirkungsquerschnitte 167 Abbildungsverzeichnis 169 Tabellenverzeichnis 172 Literaturverzeichnis 173

According to Quantum Chromodynamics Theory, highly compressed and heated nuclear matter should undergo a phase transition to a new state, called the Quark Gluon Plasma. These extreme conditions can probably be created in the collisions of relativistic heavy ions. We are looking for signatures of the phase transition to QGP such as enhancement of the strangeness production rates and reduction of the collective nuclear flow. The results of the invariant differential cross sections measurements for $\Lambda$ hyperon and $\pi\sp-$ meson production via track reconstruction in the Time Projection Chambers experiment BNL-AGS-E891 are presented. Comparison of our experimental data on the differential particle multiplicities for $\Lambda$ and $\pi\sp-$ with the cascade models ARC and RQMD is given. The shapes of the particles spectra indicate the strong collective expansion of nuclear matter. We employ the three dimensional expansion picture in order to parametrize the observed particle spectra and extract the flow parameters together with the mean temperature of the particle gas after the nuclear fluid freeze-out.

Self-supporting straw tube detectors, which were developed for the COSYTOF experiment, will be also used for tracking charged particles in the PANDA experiment. We investigate the applicability of the PANDA straw tube tracker for identification of protons, charged pions and kaons based on the energy loss information. For this aim, the Garfield program is used to simulate straw tube signals which are convoluted with the transfer function of the front-end electronics. The energy losses in the straw tubes are determined using the information about the Time Over Threshold (TOT) of the straw tube signals and, independently, about the integrated charge of the signals. The separation powers of protons, charged pions and kaons based on the TOT and the integrated charge are comparable and exceed a $5\sigma$ level for particle momenta below 0.6 GeV/c as required for PANDA. We simulate also the gas gain in the straw tubes with the Magboltz and Garfield program. The experimental results for the gain are reproduced after adding 34% Penning transfer rate in the simulation. The straw tube tracker performance is also studied in the COSY-TOF experiment with analysis of the data for the $~pp ! pK+\lambda$ reaction measured with a proton beam at 2.95 GeV/c momentum. The polarization of the beam is determined to be about 87% by analysis the pp elastic scattering events. The analysis using only the straw tube tracker information shows a high reconstruction efficiency of 20% for the $pK+\lambda$ events and the $p\lambda$ invariant mass resolution of 1 MeV/c2. The angular distributions of protons, kaons and $\lambda$-hyperons are determined in the CMS and are fit with the Legendre polynomials. The fitting coefficients show that both S and D-wave contributions are dominant for the proton distribution, whereas in the $\lambda$ distribution all S, P and D-waves are significant. The Dalitz plot with the selected $pK+\lambda$ events shows significant enhancements due to the $p\lambda$-FSI and the $N\Sigma$ cusp effect. The $N\Sigma$ cusp is stronger in the region of the Dalitz plot with the Helicity angle cos ${\Theta}_{pK}^{Rp\lambda} \leq -0.33$, and its angular distribution has a dominant S-wave contribution. The angular distribution of the analyzing power of the proton, kaon and $\lambda$-hyperon is also determined and fit with the associated Legendre polynomials. In the CMS the distributions are more symmetric for the proton compared to kaon and $\lambda$-hyperon. The (S,P)-wave interference contribution to the kaon analyzing power is determined to be about 0.04 at low $p\lambda$ invariant mass, and it can be used to extract the $p\lambda$ spin triplet scattering length.