Measurement of the mass difference and the binding energy of the hypertriton and antihypertriton

Abstract

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 $\Lambda$ hyperon. With data recorded by the STAR detector{\cite{TPC,HFT,TOF}} at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, we measure the $\Lambda$ hyperon binding energy $B_{\Lambda }$ for the hypertriton, and find that it differs from the widely used value{\cite{B_1973}} and from predictions{\cite{2019_weak, 1995_weak, 2002_weak, 2014_weak}}, where the hypertriton is treated as a weakly bound system. Our results place stringent constraints on the hyperon-nucleon interaction{\cite{Hammer2002, STAR-antiH3L}}, and have implications for understanding neutron star interiors, where strange matter may be present{\cite{Chatterjee2016}}. A precise comparison of the masses of the hypertriton and the antihypertriton allows us to test CPT symmetry in a nucleus with strangeness for the first time, and we observe no deviation from the expected exact symmetry.

References in corpus (7)

• Hyperon Puzzle: Hints from Quantum Monte Carlo Calculations
• Light Nuclei and Hypernuclei from Quantum Chromodynamics in the Limit of SU(3) Flavor Symmetry
• Hyperon-nucleon interaction within chiral effective field theory revisited
• ${}_{\Lambda }^3\mathrm{H}$ and ${}_{\bar{\Lambda }}^3\bar{\mathrm{H}}$ lifetime measurement in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 5.02 TeV via two-body decay
• Three-Body Hypernuclei in Pionless Effective Field Theory
• Implications of an increased $\Lambda$-separation energy of the hypertriton
• Addendum: Triton and hypertriton binding energies calculated from SU_6 quark-model baryon-baryon interactions

Cited by in corpus (56)

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• Measurement of ${}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}^4\mathrm{H}$ and ${}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}^4\mathrm{He}$ binding energy in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 3 GeV
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• Predictions for production of ${}_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}^3\mathrm{H}$ and ${}_{\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}^3\overline{\mathrm{H}}$ in isobaric ${}_{44}^{96}$Ru+${}_{44}^{96}$Ru and ${}_{40}^{96}$Zr+${}_{40}^{96}$Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 200 GeV
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• Probing the size and binding energy of the hypertriton in heavy ion collisions
• Consequences of increased hypertriton binding for $s$-shell $\Lambda$-hypernuclear systems
• Letter of Intent: the NA60+ experiment
• Partial-wave expansion of $\Lambda NN$ three-baryon interactions in chiral effective field theory
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• QFT treatment of a bound state in a thermal gas
• Elliptic flow of deuterons in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions
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• Strangeness production and hypernuclear formation in proton and antiproton induced reactions
• Measurement of ${}^{3,4}$He($K^{-},{\pi }^0$)${}_{\Lambda }^{3,4}$H reaction cross section and evaluation of hypertriton $\Lambda$ binding energy
• Production of loosely-bound hadron molecules from bottomonium decays
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• Collision system size scan for light (anti-)nuclei and (anti-)hypertriton production in high energy nuclear collisions
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• Recent progress on few-body hypernuclei
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