Observation of the antimatter helium-4 nucleus

The STAR collaboration Agakishiev, H. ; Aggarwal, M.M. ; Ahammed, Z. ; et al.
Nature 473 (2011) 353, 2011.
Inspire Record 893021 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.58495

High-energy nuclear collisions create an energy density similar to that of the universe microseconds after the Big Bang, and in both cases, matter and antimatter are formed with comparable abundance. However, the relatively short-lived expansion in nuclear collisions allows antimatter to decouple quickly from matter, and avoid annihilation. Thus, a high energy accelerator of heavy nuclei is an efficient means of producing and studying antimatter. The antimatter helium-4 nucleus ($^4\bar{He}$), also known as the anti-{\alpha} ($\bar{\alpha}$), consists of two antiprotons and two antineutrons (baryon number B=-4). It has not been observed previously, although the {\alpha} particle was identified a century ago by Rutherford and is present in cosmic radiation at the 10% level. Antimatter nuclei with B < -1 have been observed only as rare products of interactions at particle accelerators, where the rate of antinucleus production in high-energy collisions decreases by about 1000 with each additional antinucleon. We present the observation of the antimatter helium-4 nucleus, the heaviest observed antinucleus. In total 18 $^4\bar{He}$ counts were detected at the STAR experiment at RHIC in 10$^9$ recorded Au+Au collisions at center-of-mass energies of 200 GeV and 62 GeV per nucleon-nucleon pair. The yield is consistent with expectations from thermodynamic and coalescent nucleosynthesis models, which has implications beyond nuclear physics.

1 data table

Differential invariant yields of (anti)baryons evaluated at pT/B =0.875 GeV/c, in central 200 GeV Au+Au collisions.


Prompt and non-prompt J/psi production in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The CMS collaboration Khachatryan, Vardan ; Sirunyan, Albert M ; Tumasyan, Armen ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 71 (2011) 1575, 2011.
Inspire Record 878118 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.57532

The production of J/psi mesons is studied in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurement is based on a dimuon sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 314 inverse nanobarns. The J/psi differential cross section is determined, as a function of the J/psi transverse momentum, in three rapidity ranges. A fit to the decay length distribution is used to separate the prompt from the non-prompt (b hadron to J/psi) component. Integrated over J/psi transverse momentum from 6.5 to 30 GeV/c and over rapidity in the range |y| < 2.4, the measured cross sections, times the dimuon decay branching fraction, are 70.9 \pm 2.1 (stat.) \pm 3.0 (syst.) \pm 7.8(luminosity) nb for prompt J/psi mesons assuming unpolarized production and 26.0 \pm 1.4 (stat.) \pm 1.6 (syst.) \pm 2.9 (luminosity) nb for J/psi mesons from b-hadron decays.

13 data tables

Total cross section within the kinematic limits for prompt and non-prompt J/PSI production times branching ratio into MU+ MU-, assuming zero polarizartion. The second systematic error is the luminosity uncertainty.

Differential inclusive cross J/PSI section for the |rapidity| range 0 to 1.2 for each prompt J/PSI polarization scenario considered.

Differential inclusive cross J/PSI section for the |rapidity| range 1.2 to 1.6 for each prompt J/PSI polarization scenario considered.

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