Elucidating the role of strange baryons (hyperons) in neutron stars requires detailed knowledge of hyperon-nucleon interactions in the light (u,d,s) quark sector. The structure of the hyperons and their excitation spectra also directly impact, and are an input to, models of big-bang nucleosynthesis. The upcoming K-long Facility will provide a much-needed intense and clean neutral strange meson beam, from which hyperons can be produced at rates where hyperon structure, hyperon-nucleon interactions and higher-order interactions can be studied with a new level of accuracy and for hitherto unreachable measurements. The new facility has the potential to address long-standing questions surrounding the strange sector of the strong force and its relevance to the structure of atomic nuclei, neutron stars and the cosmos at large. This article is part of the theme issue 'The liminal position of Nuclear Physics: from hadrons to neutron stars'.

This White Paper aims at highlighting the important benefits in the science reach of the EIC. High luminosity operation is generally desirable, as it enables producing and harvesting scientific results in a shorter time period. It becomes crucial for programs that would require many months or even years of operation at lower luminosity.

A first measurement of the polarisation transfer from a circularly-polarised photon to the final state neutron ( C nx (cid:48) ) in deuterium photodisintegration has been carried out. This quantity is determined over the photon energy range 370 – 700 MeV and for neutron centre-of-mass breakup angles ∼ 45 − 120 ◦ . An ancillary large-acceptance nucleon polarimeter, surrounding a cryogenic liquid deuterium target within the Crystal Ball detector at MAMI, characterised ( n, p ) charge exchange of the ejected neutrons to determine their polarisation. The correlation of the new C nx (cid:48) data is consistent with previous measurements of the induced polarisation, P ny , through Argand-type plots of C nx (cid:48) − P ny are consistent with a resonant phase motion in the region of the d ∗ (2380) hexaquark.

ATHENA has been designed as a general purpose detector capable of delivering the full scientific scope of the Electron-Ion Collider. Careful technology choices provide fine tracking and momentum resolution, high performance electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry, hadron identification over a wide kinematic range, and near-complete hermeticity. This article describes the detector design and its expected performance in the most relevant physics channels. It includes an evaluation of detector technology choices, the technical challenges to realizing the detector and the R D required to meet those challenges.

PANDA (anti-Proton ANnihiliation at DArmstadt) is planned to be one of the four main experiments at the future international accelerator complex FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Germany. It is going to address fundamental questions of hadron physics and quantum chromodynamics using cooled antiproton beams with a high intensity and and momenta between 1.5 and 15 GeV/c. PANDA is designed to reach a maximum luminosity of 2x10^32 cm^2 s. Most of the physics programs require an excellent particle identification (PID). The PID of hadronic states at the forward endcap of the target spectrometer will be done by a fast and compact Cherenkov detector that uses the detection of internally reflected Cherenkov light (DIRC) principle. It is designed to cover the polar angle range from 5{\deg} to 22{\deg} and to provide a separation power for the separation of charged pions and kaons up to 3 standard deviations (s.d.) for particle momenta up to 4 GeV/c in order to cover the important particle phase space. This document describes the technical design and the expected performance of the novel PANDA Disc DIRC detector that has not been used in any other high energy physics experiment (HEP) before. The performance has been studied with Monte-Carlo simulations and various beam tests at DESY and CERN. The final design meets all PANDA requirements and guarantees suffcient safety margins.

We report on the measurement of the beam spin asymmetry in the deeply virtual Compton scattering off ^4He using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab using a 6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron beam incident on a pressurized ^4He gaseous target. We detail the method used to ensure the exclusivity of the measured reactions, in particular the upgrade of CLAS with a radial time projection chamber to detect the low-energy recoiling ^4He nuclei and an inner calorimeter to extend the photon detection acceptance at forward angles. Our results confirm the theoretically predicted enhancement of the coherent (e^4He→ e'^4He'γ') beam spin asymmetries compared to those observed on the free proton, while the incoherent (e^4He→ e'p'γ'X') asymmetries exhibit a 30% suppression. From the coherent data, we were able to extract, in a model-independent way, the real and imaginary parts of the only ^4He Compton form factor, H_A, leading the way toward 3D imaging of the partonic structure of nuclei.

AbstractThe antiproton experiment PANDA at FAIR is designed to bring hadron physics to a new level in terms of scope, precision and accuracy. In this work, its unique capability for studies of hyperons is outlined. We discuss ground-state hyperons as diagnostic tools to study non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, and fundamental symmetries. New simulation studies have been carried out for two benchmark hyperon-antihyperon production channels: $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varLambda }}\varLambda $$ p ¯ p → Λ ¯ Λ and $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varXi }}^+\varXi ^-$$ p ¯ p → Ξ ¯ + Ξ - . The results, presented in detail in this paper, show that hyperon-antihyperon pairs from these reactions can be exclusively reconstructed with high efficiency and very low background contamination. In addition, the polarisation and spin correlations have been studied, exploiting the weak, self-analysing decay of hyperons and antihyperons. Two independent approaches to the finite efficiency have been applied and evaluated: one standard multidimensional efficiency correction approach, and one efficiency independent approach. The applicability of the latter was thoroughly evaluated for all channels, beam momenta and observables. The standard method yields good results in all cases, and shows that spin observables can be studied with high precision and accuracy already in the first phase of data taking with PANDA.

We report on the measurement of the beam spin asymmetry in the deeply virtual Compton scattering off He-4 using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at Jefferson Lab using a 6 GeV longitudinally polarized electron beam incident on a pressurized He-4 gaseous target. We detail the method used to ensure the exclusivity of the measured reactions, in particular the upgrade of CLAS with a radial time projection chamber to detect the low-energy recoiling He-4 nuclei and an inner calorimeter to extend the photon detection acceptance at forward angles. Our results confirm the theoretically predicted enhancement of the coherent (e(4)He -> e'4He'gamma') beam spin asymmetries compared to those observed on the free proton, while the incoherent (e(4)He -> e'p'gamma'X') asymmetries exhibit a 30% suppression. From the coherent data, we were able to extract, in a model-independent way, the real and imaginary parts of the only He-4 Compton form factor, H-A, leading the way toward 3D imaging of the partonic structure of nuclei.

The study of baryon excitation spectra provides insight into the inner structure of baryons. So far, most of the world-wide efforts have been directed towards N^* and spectroscopy. Nevertheless, the study of the double and triple strange baryon spectrum provides independent information to the N^* and spectra. The future antiproton experiment P ANDA will provide direct access to final states containing a pair, for which production cross sections up to μ b are expected in p̅ p reactions. With a luminosity of L=10^31 cm ^-2 s ^-1 in the first phase of the experiment, the expected cross sections correspond to a production rate of ∼ 10^6 events /day . With a nearly 4π detector acceptance, P ANDA will thus be a hyperon factory. In this study, reactions of the type p̅ p → ^+ ^*- as well as p̅ p → ^*+ ^- with various decay modes are investigated. For the exclusive reconstruction of the signal events a full decay tree fit is used, resulting in reconstruction efficiencies between 3 and 5

The antiproton experiment PANDA at FAIR is designed to bring hadron physics to a new level in terms of scope, precision and accuracy. In this work, its unique capability for studies of hyperons is outlined. We discuss ground-state hyperons as diagnostic tools to study non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, and fundamental symmetries. New simulation studies have been carried out for two benchmark hyperon-antihyperon production channels: $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varLambda }}\varLambda $$ p ¯ p → Λ ¯ Λ and $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varXi }}^+\varXi ^-$$ p ¯ p → Ξ ¯ + Ξ - . The results, presented in detail in this paper, show that hyperon-antihyperon pairs from these reactions can be exclusively reconstructed with high efficiency and very low background contamination. In addition, the polarisation and spin correlations have been studied, exploiting the weak, self-analysing decay of hyperons and antihyperons. Two independent approaches to the finite efficiency have been applied and evaluated: one standard multidimensional efficiency correction approach, and one efficiency independent approach. The applicability of the latter was thoroughly evaluated for all channels, beam momenta and observables. The standard method yields good results in all cases, and shows that spin observables can be studied with high precision and accuracy already in the first phase of data taking with PANDA.

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany, provides unique possibilities for a new generation of hadron-, nuclear- and atomic physics experiments. The future antiProton ANnihilations at DArmstadt (PANDA or PANDA) experiment at FAIR will offer a broad physics programme, covering different aspects of the strong interaction. Understanding the latter in the non-perturbative regime remains one of the greatest challenges in contemporary physics. The antiproton-nucleon interaction studied with PANDA provides crucial tests in this area. Furthermore, the high-intensity, low-energy domain of PANDA allows for searches for physics beyond the Standard Model, e.g. through high precision symmetry tests. This paper takes into account a staged approach for the detector setup and for the delivered luminosity from the accelerator. The available detector setup at the time of the delivery of the first antiproton beams in the HESR storage ring is referred to as the Phase One setup. The physics programme that is achievable during Phase One is outlined in this paper.

The study of baryon excitation spectra provides insight into the inner structure of baryons. So far, most of the world-wide efforts have been directed towards $$N^*$$ and $$\varDelta $$ spectroscopy. Nevertheless, the study of the double and triple strange baryon spectrum provides independent information to the $$N^*$$ and $$\varDelta $$ spectra. The future antiproton experiment $$\overline{\text{ P }}$$ ANDA will provide direct access to final states containing a $${\overline{\varXi }}\varXi $$ pair, for which production cross sections up to $$\mu \text{ b }$$ are expected in $$\bar{\text{ p }}$$ p reactions. With a luminosity of $$L=10^{31}$$ cm $$^{-2}$$ s $$^{-1}$$ in the first phase of the experiment, the expected cross sections correspond to a production rate of $$\sim 10^6\, \text{ events }/\text{day }$$ . With a nearly $$4\pi $$ detector acceptance, $$\overline{\text{ P }}$$ ANDA will thus be a hyperon factory. In this study, reactions of the type $$\bar{\text{ p }}$$ p $$\rightarrow $$ $${\overline{\varXi }}^{+}$$ $$\varXi ^{*-}$$ as well as $$\bar{\text{ p }}$$ p $$\rightarrow $$ $${\overline{\varXi }}^{*+}$$ $$\varXi ^{-}$$ with various decay modes are investigated. For the exclusive reconstruction of the signal events a full decay tree fit is used, resulting in reconstruction efficiencies between 3 and 5%. This allows high statistics data to be collected within a few weeks of data taking.

The antiproton experiment PANDA at FAIR is designed to bring hadron physics to a new level in terms of scope, precision and accuracy. In this work, its unique capability for studies of hyperons is outlined. We discuss ground-state hyperons as diagnostic tools to study non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, and fundamental symmetries. New simulation studies have been carried out for two benchmark hyperon-antihyperon production channels: $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varLambda }}\varLambda $$ and $${\bar{p}}p \rightarrow {\bar{\varXi }}^+\varXi ^-$$ . The results, presented in detail in this paper, show that hyperon-antihyperon pairs from these reactions can be exclusively reconstructed with high efficiency and very low background contamination. In addition, the polarisation and spin correlations have been studied, exploiting the weak, self-analysing decay of hyperons and antihyperons. Two independent approaches to the finite efficiency have been applied and evaluated: one standard multidimensional efficiency correction approach, and one efficiency independent approach. The applicability of the latter was thoroughly evaluated for all channels, beam momenta and observables. The standard method yields good results in all cases, and shows that spin observables can be studied with high precision and accuracy already in the first phase of data taking with PANDA.

This paper reports on Monte Carlo simulation results for future measurements of the moduli of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors, $$|G_{E}|$$ | G E | and $$|G_{M}|$$ | G M | , using the $$\bar{p} p \rightarrow \mu ^{+} \mu ^{-}$$ p ¯ p → μ + μ - reaction at $$\overline{\text {P}}\text {ANDA}$$ P ¯ ANDA (FAIR). The electromagnetic form factors are fundamental quantities parameterizing the electric and magnetic structure of hadrons. This work estimates the statistical and total accuracy with which the form factors can be measured at $$\overline{\text {P}}\text {ANDA}$$ P ¯ ANDA , using an analysis of simulated data within the PandaRoot software framework. The most crucial background channel is $$\bar{p} p \rightarrow \pi ^{+} \pi ^{-}$$ p ¯ p → π + π - , due to the very similar behavior of muons and pions in the detector. The suppression factors are evaluated for this and all other relevant background channels at different values of antiproton beam momentum. The signal/background separation is based on a multivariate analysis, using the Boosted Decision Trees method. An expected background subtraction is included in this study, based on realistic angular distributions of the background contribution. Systematic uncertainties are considered and the relative total uncertainties of the form factor measurements are presented.

Strange matter is believed to exist in the cores of neutron stars based on simple kinematics. If this is true, then hyperon-nucleon interactions will play a significant part in the neutron star equation of state (EOS). Yet, compared to other elastic scattering processes, there is very little data on Λ-N scattering. This experiment utilized the CLAS detector to study the Λ p →Λ p elastic scattering cross section in the incident Λ momentum range 0.9-2.0 GeV/c. This is the first data on this reaction in several decades. The new cross sections have significantly better accuracy and precision than the existing world data, and the techniques developed here can also be used in future experiments.

The first results on the σ_LT' structure function in exclusive π^0p electroproduction at invariant masses of the final state of 1.5 GeV < W < 1.8 GeV and in the range of photon virtualities 0.4 GeV^2 < Q^2 < 1.0 GeV^2 were obtained from data on beam spin asymmetries and differential cross sections measured with the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab. The Legendre moments determined from the σ_LT' structure function have demonstrated sensitivity to the contributions from the nucleon resonances in the second and third resonance regions. These new data on the beam spin asymmetries in π^0p electroproduction extend the opportunities for the extraction of the nucleon resonance electroexcitation amplitudes in the mass range above 1.6 GeV.