Meson Production in Antinucleon-Reactions on Atomic Nuclei: Theoretical Foundations for AIC and PANDA Experiments

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Horst Lenske
• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: from 2009 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 87221488

We propose a joint theoretical and experimental project for a Design Study for an antiproton-ion collider (AIC), The AIC will be a major new facility for the investigation of the interactions of antiprotons with exotic nuclei at extreme isospin with special emphasis on structure investigations in stable and short-lived nuclei. An important part of the project will be to develop theoretical methods appropriate for a physical understanding and a quantitative description of the reactions between high energy antiprotons and nucleons and nuclei. For that purpose, in-beam collisions of high energy antiprotons with nuclei circulating in an experimental storage ring will be investigated as a tool to determine the matter distribution of protons and neutrons, respectively. Additional information on the type of reaction will be obtained by observing in addition to the mass and charge of the final ion reaction also reaction products liku the pions. As an interesting extension of the AIC physics program we will study the production of exotic hypernuclei by antiproton annihilation on rare isotopes. The project covers a broad spectrum of new questions ranging from the physics of antiproton annihilation cross sections and particle production on nuclei far from stability to the technology of in-beam experiments in storage rings and the desiign of the corresponding detectors. The results of the exploratory experimental and theoretical studies will enter into the development of an event generator and simulation framework. From the close collaboration between the experimental and the theoretical sides we expect a particular efficient approach, allowing mutual improvements in an iterative process. Large scale simulations of the reactions are an integral part the project, serving to determine the optimal range of reaction parameters, detector set-up and analysis techniques.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants