At the origin of the Universe, asymmetry between the amount of created matter and antimatter led to the matter-dominated Universe as we know today. The origins of this asymmetry remain not completely understood yet. High-energy nuclear collisions create conditions similar to the Universe microseconds after the Big Bang, with comparable amounts of matter and antimatter. Much of the created antimatter escapes the rapidly expanding fireball without annihilating, making such collisions an effective experimental tool to create heavy antimatter nuclear objects and study their properties, hoping to shed some light on existing questions on the asymmetry between matter and antimatter. Here we report the first observation of the antimatter hypernucleus \hbox{$^4_{\bar{\Lambda}}\overline{\hbox{H}}$}, composed of a $\bar{\Lambda}$ , an antiproton and two antineutrons. The discovery was made through its two-body decay after production in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions by the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In total, 15.6 candidate \hbox{$^4_{\bar{\Lambda}}\overline{\hbox{H}}$} antimatter hypernuclei are obtained with an estimated background count of 6.4. The lifetimes of the antihypernuclei \hbox{$^3_{\bar{\Lambda}}\overline{\hbox{H}}$} and \hbox{$^4_{\bar{\Lambda}}\overline{\hbox{H}}$} are measured and compared with the lifetimes of their corresponding hypernuclei, testing the symmetry between matter and antimatter. Various production yield ratios among (anti)hypernuclei and (anti)nuclei are also measured and compared with theoretical model predictions, shedding light on their production mechanisms.
Invariant mass distributions of $^3\hbox{He}+\pi^-$ (A), $^3\overline{\hbox{He}}+\pi^+$ (B), $^4\hbox{He}+\pi^-$ (C) and $^4\overline{\hbox{He}}+\pi^+$ (D). The solid bands mark the signal invariant mass regions. The obtained signal count ($N_{\rm Sig}$), background count ($N_{\rm Bg}$), and signal significance are listed in each panel.
Invariant mass distributions of $^3\hbox{He}+\pi^-$ (A), $^3\overline{\hbox{He}}+\pi^+$ (B), $^4\hbox{He}+\pi^-$ (C) and $^4\overline{\hbox{He}}+\pi^+$ (D). The solid bands mark the signal invariant mass regions. The obtained signal count ($N_{\rm Sig}$), background count ($N_{\rm Bg}$), and signal significance are listed in each panel.
Invariant mass distributions of $^3\hbox{He}+\pi^-$ (A), $^3\overline{\hbox{He}}+\pi^+$ (B), $^4\hbox{He}+\pi^-$ (C) and $^4\overline{\hbox{He}}+\pi^+$ (D). The solid bands mark the signal invariant mass regions. The obtained signal count ($N_{\rm Sig}$), background count ($N_{\rm Bg}$), and signal significance are listed in each panel.
A new, more precise measurement of the $\Lambda$ hyperon lifetime is performed using a large data sample of Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV with ALICE. The $\Lambda$ and $\overline{\Lambda}$ hyperons are reconstructed at midrapidity using their two-body weak decay channel $\Lambda \rightarrow \mathrm{p} + \pi^{-}$ and $\overline{\Lambda} \rightarrow \overline{\mathrm{p}} + \pi^{+}$. The measured value of the $\Lambda$ lifetime is $\tau_{\Lambda} = [261.07 \pm 0.37 \ ( \rm stat.) \pm 0.72 \ (\rm syst.) ]\ \rm ps$. The relative difference between the lifetime of $\Lambda$ and $\overline{\Lambda}$, which represents an important test of CPT invariance in the strangeness sector, is also measured. The obtained value $(\tau_{\Lambda}-\tau_{\overline{\Lambda}})/\tau_{\Lambda} = 0.0013 \pm 0.0028 \ (\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 0.0021 \ (\mathrm{syst.})$ is consistent with zero within the uncertainties. Both measurements of the $\Lambda$ hyperon lifetime and of the relative difference between $\tau_{\Lambda}$ and $\tau_{\overline{\Lambda}}$ are in agreement with the corresponding world averages of the Particle Data Group and about a factor of three more precise.
Lproper spectrum of Lambda and exponential fit for the lifetime extraction. Only statistical uncertainties are shown for each data point and for the mean lifetime extracted from the exponential fit.
Lproper spectrum of Antilambda and exponential fit for the lifetime extraction. Only statistical uncertainties are shown for each data point and for the mean lifetime extracted from the exponential fit.
Lproper spectrum of Lambda and Antilambda and exponential fit for the lifetime extraction. Only statistical uncertainties are shown for each data point and for the mean lifetime extracted from the exponential fit.
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