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A<sc>bstract</sc> We report multi-differential measurements of strange hadron production ranging from mid- to target-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at a center-of-momentum energy per nucleon pair of$$ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $$ = 3 GeV with the STAR experiment at RHIC.$$ {K}_S^0 $$ meson and Λ hyperon yields are measured via their weak decay channels. Collision centrality and rapidity dependences of the transverse momentum spectra and particle ratios are presented. Particle mass and centrality dependence of the average transverse momenta of Λ and$$ {K}_S^0 $$ are compared with other strange particles, providing evidence of the development of hadronic rescattering in such collisions. The 4πyields of each of these strange hadrons show a consistent centrality dependence. Discussions on radial flow, the strange hadron production mechanism, and properties of the medium created in such collisions are presented together with results from hadronic transport and thermal model calculations.
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Measurement of the mass difference and the binding energy of the hypertriton and antihypertriton
According to the CPT theorem, which states that the combined operation of charge conjugation, parity transformation and time reversal must be conserved, particles and their antiparticles should have the same mass and lifetime but opposite charge and magnetic moment. Here, we test CPT symmetry in a nucleus containing a strange quark, more specifically in the hypertriton. This hypernucleus is the lightest one yet discovered and consists of a proton, a neutron and a Λ hyperon. With data recorded by the STAR detector1–3 at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, we measure the Λ hyperon binding energy BΛ for the hypertriton, and find that it differs from the widely used value4 and from predictions5–8, where the hypertriton is treated as a weakly bound system. Our results place stringent constraints on the hyperon–nucleon interaction9,10 and have implications for understanding neutron star interiors, where strange matter may be present11. A precise comparison of the masses of the hypertriton and the antihypertriton allows us to test CPT symmetry in a nucleus with strangeness, and we observe no deviation from the expected exact symmetry.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1913789
- PAR ID:
- 10173031
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Physics
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1745-2473
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 409 to 412
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-020-0799-7
