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Study of $\barΛ$-$p$ Annihilation into Light Mesons
Authors:
BESIII Collaboration,
M. Ablikim,
M. N. Achasov,
P. Adlarson,
X. C. Ai,
C. S. Akondi,
R. Aliberti,
A. Amoroso,
Q. An,
Y. H. An,
Y. Bai,
O. Bakina,
H. -R. Bao,
X. L. Bao,
M. Barbagiovanni,
V. Batozskaya,
K. Begzsuren,
N. Berger,
M. Berlowski,
M. B. Bertani,
D. Bettoni,
F. Bianchi,
E. Bianco,
A. Bortone,
I. Boyko
, et al. (736 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
The annihilation of $\barΛ$-$p$ into light mesons is studied using $(10.087\pm0.044)\times10^{9}$ $J/ψ$ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII storage ring. The $\barΛ$ baryons are produced in the process $J/ψ\rightarrowΛ\barΛ$ and interact with the protons in the hydrogen nuclei in the cooling oil of the beam pipe. The reactions $\barΛp\rightarrow K^+π^+π^-$ and $K^+2π^+2π^-$ are…
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The annihilation of $\barΛ$-$p$ into light mesons is studied using $(10.087\pm0.044)\times10^{9}$ $J/ψ$ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII storage ring. The $\barΛ$ baryons are produced in the process $J/ψ\rightarrowΛ\barΛ$ and interact with the protons in the hydrogen nuclei in the cooling oil of the beam pipe. The reactions $\barΛp\rightarrow K^+π^+π^-$ and $K^+2π^+2π^-$ are observed for the first time, evidence for the reaction $\barΛp\rightarrow K^0_S2π^+π^-$ is found, and no significant signals are seen for the reactions $\barΛp\rightarrow K^0_Sπ^+$, $K^+3π^+3π^-$ and $2K^+K^-$. The cross sections of these reactions are also measured at $P_{\barΛ}\approx 1.074$ GeV/$c$. Furthermore, no significant structures are observed in the combinations of the final state particles for these reactions. The annihilation of $\barΛ$-$p$ into light mesons presents the similar behavior as $\bar{n}$-$p$ reactions in this energy region. These new measurements will serve as important inputs for the theoretical understanding of the antihyperon-nucleon interaction, and further contribute to understanding antibaryon-baryon interaction in a unified perspective.
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Submitted 4 February, 2026;
originally announced February 2026.
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Observation of $\barΛp\to K^{+}π^{+}π^{-}π^{0}$ and $\barΛp\to K^{+}π^{+}π^{-}2π^{0}$
Authors:
BESIII Collaboration,
M. Ablikim,
M. N. Achasov,
P. Adlarson,
X. C. Ai,
C. S. Akondi,
R. Aliberti,
A. Amoroso,
Q. An,
Y. H. An,
Y. Bai,
O. Bakina,
Y. Ban,
H. -R. Bao,
X. L. Bao,
V. Batozskaya,
K. Begzsuren,
N. Berger,
M. Berlowski,
M. B. Bertani,
D. Bettoni,
F. Bianchi,
E. Bianco,
A. Bortone,
I. Boyko
, et al. (728 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
Using $(10087 \pm 44) \times 10^6$ $J/ψ$ events collected with the BESIII detector at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=3.097$ GeV, the antihyperon-nucleon annihilation processes $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- + kπ^0$ ($k=1,2,3$) are studied at an incident $\barΛ$ momentum of approximately 1.074 GeV/$c$. The reactions $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- π^0$ and $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- 2π^0$ are observed for t…
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Using $(10087 \pm 44) \times 10^6$ $J/ψ$ events collected with the BESIII detector at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=3.097$ GeV, the antihyperon-nucleon annihilation processes $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- + kπ^0$ ($k=1,2,3$) are studied at an incident $\barΛ$ momentum of approximately 1.074 GeV/$c$. The reactions $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- π^0$ and $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- 2π^0$ are observed for the first time, with corresponding cross sections $σ_{\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- π^0} = 8.5^{+1.2}_{-1.1} (\rm{stat.}) \pm 0.4 (\rm {syst.})$ mb and $σ_{\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- 2π^0} = 7.9^{+1.9}_{-1.7} \pm 0.4$ mb. No significant signal is found for $\barΛ p \to K^+ π^+ π^- 3π^0$, and an upper limit of 7.2 mb is set at a 90\% confidence level. An evidence for the $K^{*}(892)^+$ resonance is seen in the $K^+π^0$ invariant mass spectrum $M_{K^+π^0}$ for $k=1$, and the corresponding cross section for $\barΛ p \to K^{*}(892)^+ π^+ π^-$ is measured to be $σ_{\barΛ p \to K^{*}(892)^+ π^+ π^-} = 12.5^{+3.8}_{-3.4} \pm 1.2$ mb. Owing to the limited statistics, possible interference effects are not considered. These findings offer crucial input to deepen our understanding of the antihyperon-nucleon interactions.
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Submitted 15 April, 2026; v1 submitted 1 February, 2026;
originally announced February 2026.
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Probing Late-Stage Hadronic Interactions at High Baryon Density via $K^{*0}$ Production in the RHIC Beam Energy Scan Program
Authors:
STAR Collaboration,
B. E. Aboona,
J. Adam,
G. Agakishiev,
I. Aggarwal,
M. M. Aggarwal,
Z. Ahammed,
A. Aitbayev,
I. Alekseev,
E. Alpatov,
A. K. Alshammri,
A. Aparin,
S. Aslam,
J. Atchison,
G. S. Averichev,
V. Bairathi,
X. Bao,
P. Barik,
K. Barish,
S. Behera,
P. Bhagat,
A. Bhasin,
S. Bhatta,
I. G. Bordyuzhin,
J. D. Brandenburg
, et al. (363 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
A precision measurement of the $K^{*0}$ meson yield is reported in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 7.7,\; 11.5,\; 14.6,\; 19.6,$ and $27~\mathrm{GeV}$ using the high-statistics data sample collected by the STAR experiment during the Beam Energy Scan II (BES-II) program at RHIC. The transeverse momentum ($p_{T}$)-integrated yield ratios $(K^{*0} + \overline{K^{*0}})/(K^{+} + K^{-})$ in central…
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A precision measurement of the $K^{*0}$ meson yield is reported in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 7.7,\; 11.5,\; 14.6,\; 19.6,$ and $27~\mathrm{GeV}$ using the high-statistics data sample collected by the STAR experiment during the Beam Energy Scan II (BES-II) program at RHIC. The transeverse momentum ($p_{T}$)-integrated yield ratios $(K^{*0} + \overline{K^{*0}})/(K^{+} + K^{-})$ in central collisions show a suppression relative to peripheral collisions at the $(1.7\text{-}3.6)\,σ$ level, while a thermal model without final-stage rescattering overpredicts this ratio with a deviation of $(6.9\text{-}8.2)\,σ$. These results indicate a loss of the measured $K^{*0}$ signal in central collisions due to re-scattering of its hadronic decay products in the hadronic phase. The $p_{T}$-integrated yield of charged kaons exhibits an approximate scaling with charged-particle multiplicity, independent of collision energy and system size. A similar trend is observed for the short-lived $K^{*0}$ resonance, although significant deviations emerge at lower energies. At BES energies, the $K^{*0}/K$ ratio shows stronger suppression than at the highest RHIC and LHC energies within a given multiplicity bin, particularly in central and mid-central collisions. This behavior is consistent with changes in the effective hadronic interaction cross section and is supported by transport model calculations, which indicate dominant meson-baryon interactions at lower energies and meson-meson interactions at higher energies.
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Submitted 28 April, 2026; v1 submitted 21 January, 2026;
originally announced January 2026.
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Identified charged hadron production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 54.4 GeV with the STAR detector
Authors:
STAR Collaboration,
B. E. Aboona,
J. Adam,
G. Agakishiev,
I. Aggarwal,
M. M. Aggarwal,
Z. Ahammed,
A. Aitbayev,
I. Alekseev,
E. Alpatov,
A. K. Alshammri,
A. Aparin,
S. Aslam,
J. Atchison,
G. S. Averichev,
V. Bairathi,
X. Bao,
P. Barik,
K. Barish,
S. Behera,
P. Bhagat,
A. Bhasin,
S. Bhatta,
I. G. Bordyuzhin,
J. D. Brandenburg
, et al. (363 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
We present results on the production of $π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$, and $\bar{p}$ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 54.4~GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC, at midrapidity ($|y| <$ 0.1). Invariant yields of these particles as a function of transverse momentum are shown. We determine bulk properties such as integrated particle yields ($dN/dy$), mean transverse momentum (…
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We present results on the production of $π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $p$, and $\bar{p}$ in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 54.4~GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC, at midrapidity ($|y| <$ 0.1). Invariant yields of these particles as a function of transverse momentum are shown. We determine bulk properties such as integrated particle yields ($dN/dy$), mean transverse momentum ($\langle p_{T} \rangle$), particle ratios, which provide insight into the particle production mechanisms. Additionally, the kinetic freezeout parameters ($T_\text{kin}$ and $\langle β_{T} \rangle$), which provide information about the dynamics of the system at the time of freezeout, are obtained. The Bjorken energy density ($ε_{\rm{BJ}}$), which gives an estimate of the energy density in the central rapidity region of the collision zone at the formation time $τ$, is calculated and presented as a function of multiplicity for various energies. The results are compared with those from the models such as A Multi-Phase Transport (AMPT) and Heavy Ion Jet INteraction Generator (HIJING) for further insights.
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Submitted 21 May, 2026; v1 submitted 6 December, 2025;
originally announced December 2025.
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Observation of charmonium sequential suppression in heavy-ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
Authors:
STAR Collaboration,
B. E. Aboona,
J. Adam,
L. Adamczyk,
I. Aggarwal,
M. M. Aggarwal,
Z. Ahammed,
A. K. Alshammri,
E. C. Aschenauer,
S. Aslam,
J. Atchison,
V. Bairathi,
X. Bao,
P. Barik,
K. Barish,
S. Behera,
R. Bellwied,
P. Bhagat,
A. Bhasin,
S. Bhatta,
S. R. Bhosale,
J. Bielcik,
J. Bielcikova,
J. D. Brandenburg,
C. Broodo
, et al. (372 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
We report measurements of charmonium sequential suppression in Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm {NN}}}$ = 200 GeV with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The inclusive yield ratio of $ψ$(2S) to J/$ψ$ as a function of transverse momentum is reported, along with the centrality dependence of the double ratio, defined as the $ψ$(2S) to J/$ψ$ ratio in heav…
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We report measurements of charmonium sequential suppression in Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm {NN}}}$ = 200 GeV with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The inclusive yield ratio of $ψ$(2S) to J/$ψ$ as a function of transverse momentum is reported, along with the centrality dependence of the double ratio, defined as the $ψ$(2S) to J/$ψ$ ratio in heavy-ion collisions relative to that in $p$+$p$ collisions. In the 0-80% centrality class, the double ratio is found to be 0.41 $\pm$ 0.10 (stat) $\pm$ 0.03 (syst) $\pm$ 0.02 (ref), lower than unity with a significance of 5.6 standard deviations. This provides experimental evidence that $ψ$(2S) is significantly more suppressed than J/$ψ$ in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. This sequential suppression pattern seems to increase from peripheral to central collisions, but with no significant dependence on the transverse momentum.
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Submitted 9 March, 2026; v1 submitted 16 September, 2025;
originally announced September 2025.
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Onset of Constituent Quark Number Scaling in Heavy-Ion Collisions at RHIC
Authors:
STAR Collaboration,
B. E. Aboona,
J. Adam,
L. Adamczyk,
I. Aggarwal,
M. M. Aggarwal,
Z. Ahammed,
A. K. Alshammri,
E. C. Aschenauer,
S. Aslam,
J. Atchison,
V. Bairathi,
X. Bao,
K. Barish,
S. Behera,
R. Bellwied,
P. Bhagat,
A. Bhasin,
S. Bhatta,
S. R. Bhosale,
J. Bielcik,
J. Bielcikova,
J. D. Brandenburg,
C. Broodo,
X. Z. Cai
, et al. (347 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
Partonic collectivity is one of the necessary signatures for the formation of quark-gluon plasma in high-energy nuclear collisions. Number of constituent quarks (NCQ) scaling has been observed for hadron elliptic flow $v_2$ in top energy nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the LHC, and this has been theoretically suggested as strong evidence for partonic collectivity. In…
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Partonic collectivity is one of the necessary signatures for the formation of quark-gluon plasma in high-energy nuclear collisions. Number of constituent quarks (NCQ) scaling has been observed for hadron elliptic flow $v_2$ in top energy nuclear collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and the LHC, and this has been theoretically suggested as strong evidence for partonic collectivity. In this Letter, a systematic analysis of $v_2$ of $π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, $K^{0}_{S}$, $p$, and $Λ$ in Au+Au collisions at ${\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}}}$ = 3.2, 3.5, 3.9, and 4.5 GeV, with the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, is presented. NCQ scaling is markedly violated at 3.2 GeV, consistent with a hadronic-interaction dominated equation of state. However, as the collision energy increases, a gradual evolution to NCQ scaling is observed. This beam-energy dependence of $v_2$ for all hadrons studied provides evidence for the onset of dominant partonic interactions by ${\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}}}$ = 4.5 GeV.
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Submitted 11 August, 2025; v1 submitted 2 April, 2025;
originally announced April 2025.
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Measurement of Kaon Directed Flow in Au+Au Collisions in the High Baryon Density Region
Authors:
STAR Collaboration,
B. E. Aboona,
J. Adam,
G. Agakishiev,
I. Aggarwal,
M. M. Aggarwal,
Z. Ahammed,
A. Aitbayev,
I. Alekseev,
E. Alpatov,
A. K. Alshammri,
A. Aparin,
S. Aslam,
J. Atchison,
G. S. Averichev,
V. Bairathi,
X. Bao,
P. Barik,
K. Barish,
S. Behera,
P. Bhagat,
A. Bhasin,
S. Bhatta,
I. G. Bordyuzhin,
J. D. Brandenburg
, et al. (363 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
Rapidity-odd directed flow $v_1$ measurements are presented for $K^{\pm}$ and $K^0_S$ in Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$ = 3.0, 3.2, 3.5, and 3.9 GeV with the STAR experiment. For comparison, $v_1$ of $π^{\pm}$, protons, and $Λ$ from the same collisions are also discussed. The mid-rapidity $v_1$ slope $\text{d}v_1/\text{d}y|_{y=0}$ for protons and $Λ$ is positive in these collisions.…
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Rapidity-odd directed flow $v_1$ measurements are presented for $K^{\pm}$ and $K^0_S$ in Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}}$ = 3.0, 3.2, 3.5, and 3.9 GeV with the STAR experiment. For comparison, $v_1$ of $π^{\pm}$, protons, and $Λ$ from the same collisions are also discussed. The mid-rapidity $v_1$ slope $\text{d}v_1/\text{d}y|_{y=0}$ for protons and $Λ$ is positive in these collisions. On the other hand, $v_1$ slope of kaons exhibits a strong $p_\text{T}$ dependence: negative at $p_\text{T} <$ 0.6 GeV/$c$ and positive at higher $p_\text{T}$. A similar $p_\text{T}$ dependence is also evident for the $v_1$ slope of charged pions. Compared to the spectator-removed calculations in Au$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\text{NN}}} =$ 3.0-3.9 GeV, the JAM model demonstrates a pronounced shift of the $v_1$ slopes of mesons towards the negative direction. It suggests that the shadowing effect of the spectators plays an important role in the observed kaon anti-flow at low $p_\text{T}$ in the high baryon density region of non-central collisions.
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Submitted 31 May, 2026; v1 submitted 30 March, 2025;
originally announced March 2025.