Publications
Publication Information
| Title | Quantum Chromodynamics Resolution of the ATOMKI Anomaly in 4He* -> 4He + e+e- Nuclear Transitions |
| Authors | Valery Kubarovsky, Jennifer Rittenhouse West, Stanley Brodsky |
| JLAB number | JLAB-PHY-22-3641 |
| LANL number | (None) |
| Other number | DOE/OR/23177-5511 |
| Document Type(s) | (Journal Article) |
| Associated with EIC: | No |
| Supported by Jefferson Lab LDRD Funding: | No |
| Funding Source: | Nuclear Physics (NP) |
|
Journal Compiled for Not decided yet Refereed | |
| Publication Abstract: | Recent observations of a narrow peak in the me+e- invariant mass spectra in the nuclear decays 8Be*->8Be + e+e- and 4He*->4He + e+e- have been suggested as due to the creation and subsequent decay to an electron-positron pair of a new light particle with a mass of ~17 MeV. In this work, we present the calculation of the invariant mass me+e- spectrum in the electromagnetic transition process of an excited state of 4He, 4He*(E*)->4He + gamma* ->4He + e+e-, where E* is the excited state energy, and estimate the differential and total width of this decay. We investigate the possibility of a new electromagnetic transition in the helium nucleus due to the proposed 12-quark color singlet Fock state in the 4He nuclear wave function (dubbed the hexadiquark) as the source of the signal and find we can fit the shape of the signal with a Gaussian form factor and a new excited state of 4He at ~17.9 MeV. We address the physical issues with the fit parameters using QCD-based hexadiquark transitions. In light of this work, we emphasize the need for independent experimental confirmation or refutation of the ATOMKI results as well as further experiments to detect the proposed new excitation of 4He. |
| Experiment Numbers: | other |
| Group: | Hall B |
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