Naslov
Experimental Evidence for an Attractive p−ϕ Interaction

Autori
Acharya, S. ; … ; Erhardt, Filip ; … ; Gotovac, Sven ; … ; Jercic, Marko ; … ; Karatovic, David ; … ; Loncar, Petra ; … ; Mudnic, Eugen ; … ; Planinic, Mirko ; … ; Poljak, Nikola ; … ; Vickovic, Linda ; … ; Zurlo, N.

Kolaboracija
ALICE Collaboration

Izvornik
Physical review letters (0031-9007) 127 (2021), 17; 172301, 13

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
correlation: two-particle ; symmetry: chiral ; p p: scattering ; scattering length ; Phi(1020) ; coupling constant ; correlation function ; strong interaction ; ALICE ; nuclear matter ; effective range ; experimental results ; 13000 GeV-cms/nucleon

Sažetak
This Letter presents the first experimental evidence of the attractive strong interaction between a proton and a ϕ meson. The result is obtained from two-particle correlations of combined p−ϕ⊕¯p−ϕ pairs measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at √s=13 TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The spin- averaged scattering length and effective range of the p−ϕ interaction are extracted from the fully corrected correlation function employing the Lednický-Lyuboshits approach. In particular, the imaginary part of the scattering length vanishes within uncertainties, indicating that inelastic processes do not play a prominent role for the p−ϕ interaction. These data demonstrate that the interaction is dominated by elastic p−ϕ scattering. Furthermore, an analysis employing phenomenological Gaussian- and Yukawa-type potentials is conducted. Under the assumption of the latter, the N−ϕ coupling constant is found to be gN−ϕ=0.14±0.03 (stat)±0.02 (syst). This work provides valuable experimental input to accomplish a self-consistent description of the N−ϕ interaction, which is particularly relevant for the more fundamental studies on partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear medium.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Fizika

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