https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20148101019
First πK atom lifetime measurement and recent results from the DIRAC experiment
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie 6, 141980 Dubna, Russia
a e-mail: Mikhail.Zhabitsky@jinr.ru
Published online: 26 November 2014
We report evidence for πK atoms production, using 24 GeV/c proton beam from CERN PS interacting with a thin Ni target. We have identified (178 ± 49) πK pairs, which were produced in a bound state — πK atom, which was subsequently broken-up (ionized) in the Ni target. Our analysis yields a first measurement of the πK atom lifetime (2.5−1.8+3.0) fs [1]. This lifetime is connected in a model-independent way to the S-wave isospin-odd πK scattering length |a0−| = 1/3|a1/2 − a3/2| = (0.11−0.04+0.09) Mπ−1 (aI for isospin I).
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2014
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