First simultaneous ${K}^{\ensuremath{-}}p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}, \mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$ cross section measurements at 98 $\mathrm{MeV}\text{/}c$

First simultaneous $K^{-} p \to Σ^{0} π^{0}, Λ π^{0}$ cross section measurements at 98 $MeV / c$

Kristian Piscicchia et al.

Phys. Rev. C 108, 055201 – Published 6 November 2023

Abstract

Simultaneous measurements of the $K^{-} p \to Σ^{0} π^{0}$ and $K^{-} p \to Λ π^{0}$ cross sections below 100 $MeV / c$ kaon momentum have been performed. The kaon beam delivered by the $DA Φ NE$ collider was exploited to detect $K^{-}$ absorptions on hydrogen atoms populating the gas mixture of the KLOE drift chamber. The cross sections are determined with the highest yet obtained precision in the low kaon momentum regime $[σ_{K^{-} p \to Σ^{0} π^{0}} = 42.8 \pm 1.5 {(stat)}_{- 2.0}^{+ 2.4} (syst) mb$ and $σ_{K^{-} p \to Λ π^{0}} = 31.0 \pm 0.5 {(stat)}_{- 1.2}^{+ 1.2} (syst) mb]$ impacting on pending questions in several fields, ranging from nuclear and particle physics, to astrophysics.