Hypernuclear research will be one of the main topics addressed by the PANDA experiment at the planned Facility for Anti-proton and Ion Research FAIR at Darmstadt, Germany. A copious production of Xi-hyperons at a dedicated internal target in the stor
ed anti-proton beam is expected, which will enable the high-precision gamma-spectroscopy of double strange systems for the first time. In addition to the general purpose PANDA setup, the hypernuclear experiments require an active secondary target of silicon layers and absorber material as well as high purity germanium (HPGe) crystals as gamma-detectors. The design of the setup and the development of these detectors is progressing: a first HPGe crystal with a new electromechanical cooling system was prepared and the properties of a silicon strip detector as a prototype to be used in the secondary target were studied. Simultaneously to the hardware projects, detailed Monte Carlo simulations were performed to predict the yield of particle stable hypernuclei. With the help of the Monte Carlo a procedure for Lambda-Lambda-hypernuclei identification by the detection and correlation of the weak decay pions was developed.
In the Kaos spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron a high-resolution coordinate detector for high-energy particles is operated. It consists of scintillating fibres with diameters of < 1mm and is read out by > 4000 multi-anode photomultiplier channels. I
t is one of the most modern focal-plane detectors for magnetic spectrometers world-wide. To correct variations in the detection efficiency, caused by the different gains and the different optical transmittances, a fully automated off-line calibration procedure has been developed. The process includes the positioning of a radioisotope source alongside the detector plane and the automated acquisition and analysis of the detector signals. It was possible to characterise and calibrate each individual fibre channel with a low degree of human interaction.
The technical design of the PANDA experiment at the future FAIR facility next to GSI is progressing. At the proposed anti-proton storage ring the spectroscopy of double Lambda hypernuclei is one of the four main topics which will be addressed by the
Collaboration. The hypernuclear experiments require (i) a dedicated internal target, (ii) an active secondary target of alternating silicon and absorber material layers, (iii) high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, and (iv) a good particle identification system for low momentum kaons. All systems need to operate in the presence of a high magnetic field and a large hadronic background. The status of the detector developments for this programme is summarized.
A characterisation of scintillating fibres with silicon photomultiplier read-out was performed in view of their possible application in fibre tracking detector systems. Such a concept is being considered for the Kaos spectrometer at the Mainz Microtr
on MAMI and as a time-of-flight start detector for the hypernuclear physics programme at the PANDA experiment of the FAIR project. Results on particle detection effciency and time resolution are discussed. In summary, the silicon devices are very suitable for the detection of the low light yield from scintillating fibres insofar a trigger scheme is found to cope with the noise rate characteristics.
An instrument of central importance for the strangeness photo- and electroproduction at the 1.5-GeV electron beam of the MAMI accelerator at the Institut fur Kernphysik in Mainz, Germany, is the newly installed magnetic spectrometer Kaos that is oper
ated by the A1 collaboration in $(e,eK)$ reactions on the proton or light nuclei. Its compact design and its capability to detect negative and positive charged particles simultaneously complements the existing spectrometers. The strangeness program performed with Kaos in 2008-9 is addressing some important issues in the field of elementary kaon photo- and electroproduction reactions. Although recent measurements have been performed at Jefferson Lab, there are still a number of open problems in the interpretation of the data and the description of the elementary process using phenomenological models. With the identification of $Lambda$ and $Sigma^0$ hyperons in the missing mass spectra from kaon production off a liquid hydrogen target it is demonstrated that the extended facility at MAMI is capable to perform strangeness electroproduction spectroscopy at low momentum transfers $Q^2$ < 0.5 (GeV/c)$^2$. The covered kinematics and systematic uncertainties in the cross-section extraction from the data are discussed.
In the new millennium hypernuclear physics is undergoing a renewed interest, both theoretically and experimentally.
At the Institut fur Kernphysik in Mainz, Germany, the microtron MAMI has been upgraded to 1.5-GeV electron beam energy. The magnetic spectrometer Kaos is now operated by the A1 collaboration to study strangeness electro-production. Its compact design
and its capability to detect negative and positive charged particles simultaneously under forward scattering angles complements the existing spectrometers. In 2008 kaon production off a liquid hydrogen target was measured at <Q^2> = 0.050 (GeV/c)^2 and 0.036 (GeV/c)^2. Associated Lambda and Sigma hyperons were identified in the missing mass spectra. Major modifications to the beam-line are under construction and a new electron arm focal-surface detector system was built in order to use Kaos as a double-arm spectrometer under zero degree scattering angle.
The electromagnetic kaon production amplitudes associated to Lambda/Sigma hyperons can be described by phenomenological models, most notably by isobar approaches. Experimental data on kaon production have been collected at ELSA, SPring8, GRAAL, LNS T
ohoku, and Jefferson Lab in the past, the measurements at Jefferson Lab providing the largest kinematic coverage and statistical significance. However, ambiguities inherent in the models, some data inconsistency in the cross-sections taken at different laboratories, and the problem of missing acceptance in forward direction of the experimental set-ups hinders a reliable extraction of resonance parameters. Predictions for the hypernuclear photo-production cross-section rely on a consistent and comprehensive description of the elementary process at forward kaon angles, where the current strong variation of the models is very unsatisfactory. A number of new experiments are now addressing these issues, among them the charged kaon electro-production programme with the Kaos spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron MAMI. In this work predictions of the two prominent isobar models, Kaon-Maid and Saclay-Lyon A, are compared for the kinematics at MAMI.
Measured response functions and low photon yield spectra of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) were compared to multi-photoelectron pulse-height distributions generated by a Monte Carlo model. Characteristic parameters for SiPM were derived. The devices
were irradiated with 14 MeV electrons at the Mainz microtron MAMI. It is shown that the first noticeable damage consists of an increase in the rate of dark pulses and the loss of uniformity in the pixel gains. Higher radiation doses reduced also the photon detection efficiency. The results are especially relevant for applications of SiPM in fibre detectors at high luminosity experiments.
In February 2007, the fourth stage of the Mainz Microtron, MAMI-C, started operations with a first experiment. The new Harmonic Double-Sided Microtron delivers an electron beam with energies up to 1.5 GeV while preserving the excellent beam quality o
f the previous stages. The experimental program at MAMI is focused on studies of the hadron structure in the domain of non-perturbative QCD. In this paper, a few prominent selections of the extensive physics program at MAMI-C will be presented.
