We have measured the Balmer-series x-rays of kaonic $^4$He atoms using novel large-area silicon drift x-ray detectors in order to study the low-energy $bar{K}$-nucleus strong interaction. The energy of the $3d to 2p$ transition was determined to be 6467 $pm$ 3 (stat) $pm$ 2 (syst) eV. The resulting strong-interaction energy-level shift is in agreement with theoretical calculations, thus eliminating a long-standing discrepancy between theory and experiment.
Kaonic hydrogen atoms provide a unique laboratory to probe the kaon-nucleon strong interaction at the energy threshold, allowing an investigation of the interplay between spontaneous and explicit chiral symmetry breaking in low-energy QCD. The SIDDHARTA Collaboration has measured the $K$-series X rays of kaonic hydrogen atoms at the DA$Phi$NE electron-positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, and has determined the most precise values of the strong-interaction induced shift and width of the $1s$ atomic energy level. This result provides vital constraints on the theoretical description of the low-energy $bar{K}N$ interaction.
In the exotic atoms where one atomic $1s$ electron is replaced by a $K^{-}$, the strong interaction between the $K^{-}$ and the nucleus introduces an energy shift and broadening of the low-lying kaonic atomic levels which are determined by only the electromagnetic interaction. By performing X-ray spectroscopy for Z=1,2 kaonic atoms, the SIDDHARTA experiment determined with high precision the shift and width for the $1s$ state of $K^{-}p$ and the $2p$ state of kaonic helium-3 and kaonic helium-4. These results provided unique information of the kaon-nucleus interaction in the low energy limit.
We report a 0.08 % measurement of the bound neutron scattering length of $^4$He using neutron interferometry. The result is $b = (3.0982 pm 0.0021 mbox{ [stat]} pm 0.0014 mbox{ [sys]}) mbox{ fm}$. The corresponding free atomic scattering length is $a = (2.4746 pm 0.0017 mbox{ [stat]} pm 0.0011 mbox{ [sys]}) mbox{ fm}$. With this result the world average becomes $b = (3.0993 pm 0.0025)$ fm, a 2 % downward shift and a reduction in uncertainty by more than a factor of six. Our result is in disagreement with a previous neutron interferometric measurement but is in good agreement with earlier measurements using neutron transmission.
Very recently, we have performed a couple of experiments, {it{KEK PS-E549/E570}}, for the detailed study of the strange tribaryon $S^0(3115)$ obtained in {it{KEK PS-E471}}. These experiments were performed to accumulate much higher statistics with improved experimental apparatusespecially for the better proton spectroscopy of the $^4$He({it{stopped K}}$^-$, {it{N}}) reaction. In contrast to the previous proton spectrum, no narrow ($sim$ 20 MeV) peak structure was found either in the inclusive $^4$He({it{stopped K}}$^-$, {it{p}}) or in the semi-inclusive $^4$He({it{stopped K}}$^-$, {it{p}}$X^pm$) reaction channel, which is equivalent to the previous $E471$ event trigger condition. Detailed analysis of the present data and simulation shows that the peak, corresponding to $S^0(3115)$, has been an experimental artifact. Present analysis does not exclude the possible existence of a much wider structure. To be sensitive to such structure and for better understanding of the non-mesonic $K^-$ absorption reaction channel, detailed analysis of the data is in progress.
We measured the $K$-series X-rays of the $K^{-}p$ exotic atom in the SIDDHARTA experiment with a gaseous hydrogen target of 1.3 g/l, which is about 15 times the $rho_{rm STP}$ of hydrogen gas. At this density, the absolute yields of kaonic X-rays, when a negatively charged kaon stopped inside the target, were determined to be 0.012$^{+0.004}_{-0.003}$ for $K_{alpha}$ and 0.043$^{+0.012}_{-0.011}$ for all the $K$-series transitions $K_{tot}$. These results, together with the KEK E228 experiment results, confirm for the first time a target density dependence of the yield predicted by the cascade models, and provide valuable information to refine the parameters used in the cascade models for the kaonic atoms.