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V. Metag

Publications and source records attributed to V. Metag.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Measurement of Differential Cross Sections and Integrated Luminosity using Proton-Proton Elastic Scattering with HADES at T = 4.53 GeV and T = 1.60 GeV

This work presents an investigation of elastic proton-proton scattering based on data collected with the recently upgraded HADES detector using beams of protons with kinetic energies of $T = 4.53$ GeV and $T = 1.60$ GeV impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. This is the first measurement emerging from the upgraded detector setup, including a Forward Detector with straw-tube tracking planes designed for the PANDA experiment. The well-constrained two-body kinematic relations of elastic scattering have been exploited to study the detector alignment, the beam alignment, and to provide the final measurement of the beam energy. In addition, the recorded luminosity of the experiment has been determined by normalizing the HADES data in a range of the squared four-momentum transfer $t$ that overlaps with measurements by previous experiments worldwide. Furthermore, the differential cross sections have been determined over a large range of $t$ from which the slope parameter $B$ is extracted, yielding $B = 8.98 \pm 0.3$ (GeV/$c$)$^{-2}$ and $7.3 \pm 0.1$ (GeV/$c$)$^{-2}$ at $T = 4.53$ GeV and $1.60$ GeV, respectively. This contribution to the world database on elastic proton-proton scattering provides input to theoretical modeling and serves as a reference for luminosity determinations by future experiments in the same energy range.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2025

Formation and lifetime measurements of light hypernuclei in Ag+Ag collisions at $\mathrm{\sqrt{s_{NN}}}$ = 2.55 GeV

We present the first observation of $\mathrm{^{3}_\Lambda H}$ and $\mathrm{^{4}_\Lambda H}$ in Ag+Ag collisions at $\mathrm{\sqrt{s_{NN}}}$ = 2.55 GeV, emitted around mid-rapidity. The hypernuclei are reconstructed via their two-body decay channels and identified through their weak-decay topology, employing an artificial neural network for enhanced discrimination. The analysis methodology is validated using $\Lambda$ hyperons. The resulting rapidity distributions, dN/dy, exhibit a bell shape centered at mid-rapidity. The yield of $\mathrm{^{4}_\Lambda H}$ is equal to or exceeds that of $\mathrm{^{3}_\Lambda H}$, which contrasts the measurement from the STAR collaboration at $\mathrm{\sqrt{s_{NN}}}$ = 3 GeV and is consistent with a scenario in which hypernuclei receive feed-down from excited states. The data enable a high-precision measurement of the hypernuclei lifetimes. For the $\mathrm{^{3}_\Lambda H}$, a lifetime of $\mathrm{\tau_{^{3}_\Lambda H}}$ = $(239 \pm 23{\mathrm{(stat)}} \pm 18{\mathrm{(sys)}})\,\mathrm{ps}$, is extracted, consistent on the 1$\sigma$ level with that of the free $\Lambda$. In contrast, the $\mathrm{^{4}_\Lambda H}$ lifetime of $\mathrm{\tau_{^{4}_\Lambda H}}$ = $(209 \pm 7{\mathrm{(stat)}} \pm 10{\mathrm{(sys)}})\,\mathrm{ps}$, shows a 4.5 $\sigma$ deviation from the free $\Lambda$ lifetime. The results consolidate the available world data.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2025

Excitation Spectra of the ${}^{12}{\rm C}(p,d)$ Reaction near the $\eta'$-Meson Emission Threshold Measured in Coincidence with High-Momentum Protons

The missing mass of the ${}^{12}{\rm C}(p,d)$ reaction has been measured near the $\eta'$-meson emission threshold in coincidence with a high-momentum proton to selectively collect $\eta'$-${}^{11}{\rm C}$ mesic nucleus formation events at GSI, Germany. A 2.5 GeV proton excites a carbon nucleus to form an $\eta'$-mesic nucleus emitting a deuteron forward with an energy of $\sim 1.6$ GeV. The deuteron is momentum-analyzed by the Fragment Separator used as a high-resolution spectrometer to deduce the excitation energy of the residual system. The large-acceptance detector WASA surrounding the target identifies high-momentum protons emitted in the decay of the $\eta'$-mesic nucleus. The measured semi-exclusive spectrum exhibits structures below the threshold though the statistical significance is limited. The spectrum is fitted by theoretically calculated spectra varying optical-potential parameters of the $\eta'$-nucleus interaction. The analysis results indicate $\eta'$-mesic nuclei formation for the real potential depth of $\sim -61$ MeV with a local statistical significance of $3.5 \sigma$ and, taking into account the look-elsewhere effect, a global significance of $2.1 \sigma$.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2023

Inclusive e$^+$e$^-$ production in collisions of pions with protons and nuclei in the second resonance region of baryons

Inclusive e$^+$e$^-$ production has been studied with HADES in $\pi^-$ + p, $\pi^-$ + C and $\pi^- + \mathrm{CH}_2$ reactions, using the GSI pion beam at $\sqrt{s_{\pi p}}$ = 1.49 GeV. Invariant mass and transverse momentum distributions have been measured and reveal contributions from Dalitz decays of $\pi^0$, $\eta$ mesons and baryon resonances. The transverse momentum distributions are very sensitive to the underlying kinematics of the various processes. The baryon contribution exhibits a deviation up to a factor seven from the QED reference expected for the dielectron decay of a hypothetical point-like baryon with the production cross section constrained from the inverse $\gamma$ n$\rightarrow \pi^-$ p reaction. The enhancement is attributed to a strong four-momentum squared dependence of the time-like electromagnetic transition form factors as suggested by Vector Meson Dominance (VMD). Two versions of the VMD, that differ in the photon-baryon coupling, have been applied in simulations and compared to data. VMD1 (or two-component VMD) assumes a coupling via the $\rho$ meson and a direct coupling of the photon, while in VMD2 (or strict VMD) the coupling is only mediated via the $\rho$ meson. The VMD2 model, frequently used in transport calculations for dilepton decays, is found to overestimate the measured dielectron yields, while a good description of the data can be obtained with the VMD1 model assuming no phase difference between the two amplitudes. Similar descriptions have also been obtained using a time-like baryon transition form factor model where the pion cloud plays the major role.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2023

Investigation of the $\mathbf{\Sigma^{0}}$ Production Mechanism in p(3.5 GeV)+p Collisions

The production of $\Sigma^0$ hyperons in proton proton collisions at a beam kinetic energy of 3.5 GeV impinging on a liquid hydrogen target was investigated using data collected with the HADES setup. The total production cross section is found to be $\mathrm{\sigma (pK^{+}\Sigma^{0}) [\mu b] = 17.7 \pm 1.7 (stat) \pm 1.6 (syst)}$. Differential cross section distributions of the exclusive channel $\mathrm{pp \rightarrow pK^{+}\Sigma^{0}}$ were analyzed in the center-of-mass, Gottfried-Jackson and helicity reference frames for the first time at the excess energy of 556 MeV. The data support the interplay between pion and kaon exchange mechanisms and clearly demonstrate the contribution of interfering nucleon resonances decaying to $\mathrm{K^{+}\Sigma^{0}}$. The Bonn-Gatchina partial wave analysis was employed to analyse the data. Due to the limited statistics, it was not possible to obtain an unambiguous determination of the relative contribution of intermediate nucleon resonances to the final state. However nucleon resonances with masses around 1.710 $\mathrm{GeV/c^{2}}$ ($\mathrm{N^{*}(1710)}$) and 1.900 $\mathrm{GeV/c^{2}}$ ($\mathrm{N^{*}(1900)}$ or $\mathrm{\Delta^{*}(1900)}$) are preferred by the fit.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2023

Production of hydrogen isotopes and charged pions in p (3.5 GeV) + Nb reactions

The double differential production cross sections, $d^2\sigma/d\Omega dE$, for hydrogen isotopes and charged pions in the reaction of p + Nb at 3.5 GeV proton beam energy have been measured by the High Acceptance DiElectron Spectrometer (HADES). Thanks to the high acceptance of HADES at forward emission angles and usage of its magnetic field, the measured energy range of hydrogen isotopes could be significantly extended in comparison to the relatively scarce experimental data available in the literature. The data provide information about the development of the intranuclear cascade in the proton-nucleus collisions. They can as well be utilized to study the rate of energy/momentum dissipation in the nuclear systems and the mechanism of elementary and composite particle production in excited nuclear matter at normal density. Data of this type are important also for technological and medical applications. Our results are compared to models developed to describe the processes relevant to nuclear spallation (INCL++) or oriented to probe either the elementary hadronic processes in nuclear matter or the behavior of compressed nuclear matter (GiBUU).

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2023

Hadron Production and Propagation in Pion-Induced Reactions on Nuclei

Hadron production ($\pi^\pm$, proton, $\Lambda$, $K_S^0$, $K^\pm$) in $\pi^- + \mathrm{C}$ and $\pi^- + \mathrm{W}$ collisions is investigated at an incident pion beam momentum of $1.7~\mathrm{GeV}/c$. This comprehensive set of data measured with HADES at SIS18/GSI significantly extends the existing world data on hadron production in pion induced reactions and provides a new reference for models that are commonly used for the interpretation of heavy-ion collisions. The measured inclusive differential production cross-sections are compared with state-of-the-art transport model (GiBUU, SMASH) calculations. The (semi-) exclusive channel $\pi^- + A \rightarrow \Lambda + K_S^0 +X$, in which the kinematics of the strange hadrons are correlated, is also investigated and compared to a model calculation. Agreement and remaining tensions between data and the current version of the considered transport models are discussed.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2022

The new APD-Based Readout of the Crystal Barrel Calorimeter -- An Overview

The Crystal Barrel is an electromagnetic calorimeter consisting of 1380 CsI(Tl) scintillators, and is currently installed at the CBELSA/TAPS experiment where it is used to detect decay products from photoproduction of mesons. The readout of the Crystal Barrel has been upgraded in order to integrate the detector into the first level of the trigger and to increase its sensitivity for neutral final states. The new readout uses avalanche photodiodes in the front-end and a dual back-end with branches optimized for energy and time measurement, respectively. An FPGA-based cluster finder processes the whole hit pattern within less than 100 ns. The important downside of APDs -- the temperature dependence of their gain -- is handled with a temperature stabilization and a compensating bias voltage supply. Additionally, a light pulser system allows the APDs' gains to be measured during beamtimes.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2022

Proton, deuteron and triton flow measurements in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4$ GeV

High precision measurements of flow coefficients $v_{n}$ ($n = 1 - 4$) for protons, deuterons and tritons relative to the first-order spectator plane have been performed in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4$ GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at the SIS18/GSI. Flow coefficients are studied as a function of transverse momentum $p_{t}$ and rapidity $y_{cm}$ over a large region of phase space and for several classes of collision centrality. A clear mass hierarchy is found for the slope of $v_{1}$, $d v_{1}/d y^{\prime}|_{y^{\prime} = 0}$ where $y^{\prime}$ is the scaled rapidity, and for $v_{2}$ at mid-rapidity. Scaling with the number of nucleons is observed for the $p_{t}$ dependence of $v_{2}$ and $v_{4}$ at mid-rapidity, which is indicative for nuclear coalescence as the main process responsible for light nuclei formation. $v_{2}$ is found to scale with the initial eccentricity $\langle \epsilon_{2} \rangle$, while $v_{4}$ scales with $\langle \epsilon_{2} \rangle^{2}$ and $\langle \epsilon_{4} \rangle$. The multi-differential high-precision data on $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$, and $v_{4}$ provides important constraints on the equation-of-state of compressed baryonic matter.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2022

Measurement of global polarization of {\Lambda} hyperons in few-GeV heavy-ion collisions

The global polarization of {\Lambda} hyperons along the total orbital angular momentum of a relativistic heavy-ion collision is presented based on the high statistics data samples collected in Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.4 GeV and Ag+Ag at 2.55 GeV with the High-Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI, Darmstadt. This is the first measurement below the strangeness production threshold in nucleon-nucleon collisions. Results are reported as a function of the collision centrality as well as a function of the hyperon transverse momentum (p_T) and rapidity (y_{CM}) for the range of centrality 0--40%. We observe a strong centrality dependence of the polarization with an increasing signal towards peripheral collisions. For mid-central (20--40%) collisions the polarization magnitudes are (%) = 6.8 \pm 1.3 (stat.) \pm 2.1 (syst.) for Au+Au and (%) = 6.2 \pm 0.4 (stat.) \pm 0.6 (syst.) for Ag+Ag, which are the largest values observed so far. This observation thus provides a continuation of the increasing trend previously observed by STAR and contrasts expectations from recent theoretical calculations predicting a maximum in the region of collision energies about 3 GeV. The observed polarization is of a similar magnitude as predicted by 3D fluid dynamics and the UrQMD plus thermal vorticity model and significantly above results from the AMPT model.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2022

Polarization observables in double neutral pion photoproduction

Measurements of target asymmetries and double-polarization observables for the reaction $\gamma p\to p\pi^0\pi^0$ are reported. The data were taken with the CBELSA/TAPS experiment at the ELSA facility (Bonn University) using the Bonn frozen-spin butanol (C$_4$H$_9$OH) target, which provided transversely polarized protons. Linearly polarized photons were produced via bremsstrahlung off a diamond crystal. The data cover the photon energy range from $E_{\gamma}$=650 MeV to $E_{\gamma}$=2600 MeV and nearly the complete angular range. The results have been included in the BnGa partial wave analysis. Experimental results and the fit agree very well. Observed systematic differences in the branching ratios for decays of $N^*$ and $\Delta^*$ resonances are attributed to the internal structure of these excited nucleon states. Resonances which can be assigned to SU(6)$\times$O(3) two-oscillator configurations show larger branching ratios to intermediate states with non-zero intrinsic orbital angular momenta than resonances assigned to one-oscillator configurations.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2022

First measurement of massive virtual photon emission from N* baryon resonances

First information on the time-like electromagnetic structure of baryons in the second resonance region has been obtained from measurements of dielectron (e+ e-) invariant-mass and angular distributions in the quasi-free reaction $\pi-$ p $\rightarrow$ n e+ e- at $\sqrt{s_{\pi p}}$ = 1.49 GeV with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI using the pion beam impinging on a CH$_2$ target. We find a total cross section $\sigma$ = 2.97 $\pm$ 0.07data $\pm$ 0.21acc $\pm$ 0.31Zeff $\mu$b. In complement to the analysis of the inclusive e+ e- channel, this data set provides a crucial test of the description of baryon time-like transitions. Approaches based on a Vector Meson Dominance amplitude containing direct photon and vector meson ($\rho$) couplings to the baryon provide a satisfactory agreement with the data. A good description is also obtained by electromagnetic time-like baryon transition form factors in a covariant spectator-quark model, pointing to the dominance of meson-cloud effects. The dielectron angular distributions exhibit the contributions of virtual photons ($\gamma^*$) with longitudinal polarization, in contrast to real photons. The virtual photon angular dependence supports the dominance of J=3/2, I=1/2 contributions observed in both the $\gamma^*$n and the $\pi \pi$n channels.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2022

Impact of the Coulomb field on charged-pion spectra in few-GeV heavy-ion collisions

In nuclear collisions the incident protons generate a Coulomb field which acts on produced charged particles. The impact of these interactions on charged pion transverse-mass and rapidity spectra, as well as on pion-pion momentum correlations is investigated in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.4 GeV. We show that the low-mt part of the data ($m_t < 0.2$ GeV/c$^2$) can be well described with a Coulomb-modified Boltzmann distribution that also takes changes of the Coulomb field during the expansion of the fireball into account. The observed centrality dependence of the fitted mean Coulomb potential deviates strongly from a $A_{part}^{2/3}$ scaling, indicating that, next to the fireball, the non-interacting charged spectators have to be taken into account. For the most central collisions, the Coulomb modifications of the HBT source radii are found to be consistent with the potential extracted from the single-pion transverse-mass distributions. This finding suggests that the region of homogeneity obtained from two-pion correlations coincides with the region in which the pions freeze-out. Using the inferred mean-square radius of the charge distribution at freeze-out, we have deduced a baryon density, in fair agreement with values obtained from statistical hadronization model fits to the particle yields.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2021

Observation of a structure in the M$_{p\eta}$ invariant mass distribution near 1700 MeV/$c^2$ in the $\mathbf{\gamma p \rightarrow p \pi^0 \eta} $ reaction

The reaction $\gamma p \rightarrow p \pi^0 \eta$ has been studied with the CBELSA/TAPS detector at the electron stretcher accelerator ELSA in Bonn for incident photon energies from threshold up to 3.1 GeV. This paper has been motivated by the recently claimed observation of a narrow structure in the M$_{N\eta}$ invariant mass distribution at a mass of 1678 MeV/$c^2$. The existence of this structure cannot be confirmed in the present work. Instead, for E$_{\gamma}$ = 1400 - 1500 MeV and the cut M$_{p\pi^0} \le 1190 $ MeV/$c^2$ a statistically significant structure in the M$_{p\eta}$ invariant mass distribution near 1700 MeV/$c^2$ is observed with a width of $\Gamma\approx 35$ MeV/$c^2$ while the mass resolution is $\sigma_{res}$ = 5 MeV/$c^2$. Increasing the incident photon energy from 1420 to 1540 MeV this structure shifts in mass from $\approx$ 1700MeV/c$^2$ to $\approx$ 1725 MeV/$c^2$; the width increases to about 50 MeV/$c^2$ and decreases thereafter. The cross section associated with this structure reaches a maximum of $\approx$ 100 nb around E$_{\gamma} \approx$ 1490 MeV (W $\approx $ 1920 MeV), which coincides with the $p a_0$ threshold. Three scenarios are discussed which might be the origin of this structure in the M$_{p\eta}$ invariant mass distribution. The most likely interpretation is that it is due to a triangular singularity in the $\gamma p \rightarrow p a_0 \rightarrow p \pi^0 \eta$ reaction

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2020

Correlated pion-proton pair emission off hot and dense QCD matter

In this letter we report the first multi-differential measurement of correlated pion-proton pairs from 2 billion Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.42 GeV collected with HADES. In this energy regime the population of \Delta(1232) resonances plays an important role in the way energy is distributed between intrinsic excitation energy and kinetic energy of the hadrons in the fireball. The triple differential d3N/dM{\pi}pdpTdy distributions of correlated {\pi}p pairs have been determined by subtracting the {\pi}p combinatorial background using an iterative method. The invariant-mass distributions in the \Delta(1232) mass region show strong deviations from a Breit-Wigner function with vacuum width and mass. The yield of correlated pion-proton pairs exhibits a complex isospin, rapidity and transverse-momentum dependence. In the invariant mass range 1.1 < Minv (GeV/c2) < 1.4, the yield is found to be similar for {\pi}+p and {\pi}-p pairs, and to follow a power law ^{\alpha}, where is the mean number of participating nucleons. The exponent {\alpha} depends strongly on the pair transverse momentum (pT) while its pT-integrated and charge-averaged value is {\alpha} = 1.5 \pm 0.08stat \pm 0.2sys.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2020

Helicity-dependent cross sections for the photoproduction of $\pi^0$ pairs from nucleons

The double-polarization observable $E$ and helicity-dependent cross sections $\sigma_{1/2}$, $\sigma_{3/2}$ have been measured for the photoproduction of $\pi^0$ pairs off quasi-free protons and neutrons at the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup. A circularly polarized photon beam was produced by bremsstrahlung from longitudinally polarized electrons and impinged on a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The reaction products were detected with an almost $4\pi$ covering calorimeter. The results reveal for the first time the helicity- and isospin-dependent structure of the $\gamma N\rightarrow N\pi^0\pi^0$ reaction. They are compared to predictions from reaction models in view of nucleon resonance contributions and also to a refit of one model that predicted results for the proton and for the neutron target. The comparison of the prediction and the refit demonstrate the large impact of the new data.

nucl-ex↗
arXiv2020

Identical pion intensity interferometry at sqrt(s_{NN})=2.4 GeV

High-statistics $π^-π^-$ and $π^+π^+$ femtoscopy data are presented for Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=2.4$ GeV, measured with HADES at SIS18/GSI. The experimental correlation functions allow the determination of the space-time extent of the corresponding emission sources via a comparison to models. The emission source, parametrized as three-dimensional Gaussian distribution, is studied in dependence on pair transverse momentum, azimuthal emission angle with respect to the reaction plane, collision centrality and beam energy. For all centralities and transverse momenta, a geometrical distribution of ellipsoidal shape is found in the plane perpendicular to the beam direction with the larger extension perpendicular to the reaction plane. For large transverse momenta, the corresponding eccentricity approaches the initial eccentricity. The eccentricity is smallest for most central collisions, where the shape is almost circular. The magnitude of the tilt angle of the emission ellipsoid in the reaction plane decreases with increasing centrality and increasing transverse momentum. All source radii increase with centrality, largely exhibiting a linear rise with the number of participants, irrespective of transverse momentum. A substantial charge-sign difference of the source radii is found, appearing most pronounced at low transverse momentum. The extracted source parameters are consistent with the extrapolation of their energy dependence down from higher energies.

nucl-ex↗