Observation of Global Spin Alignment of $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ Vector Mesons in Nuclear Collisions

The STAR collaboration Abdallah, M.S. ; Aboona, B.E. ; Adam, J. ; et al.
Nature 614 (2023) 244-248, 2023.
Inspire Record 2063245 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.129067

Notwithstanding decades of progress since Yukawa first developed a description of the force between nucleons in terms of meson exchange, a full understanding of the strong interaction remains a major challenge in modern science. One remaining difficulty arises from the non-perturbative nature of the strong force, which leads to the phenomenon of quark confinement at distances on the order of the size of the proton. Here we show that in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, where quarks and gluons are set free over an extended volume, two species of produced vector (spin-1) mesons, namely $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$, emerge with a surprising pattern of global spin alignment. In particular, the global spin alignment for $\phi$ is unexpectedly large, while that for $K^{*0}$ is consistent with zero. The observed spin-alignment pattern and magnitude for the $\phi$ cannot be explained by conventional mechanisms, while a model with a connection to strong force fields, i.e. an effective proxy description within the Standard Model and Quantum Chromodynamics, accommodates the current data. This connection, if fully established, will open a potential new avenue for studying the behaviour of strong force fields.

38 data tables

Global spin alignment of $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons in heavy-ion collisions. The measured matrix element $\rho_{00}$ as a function of beam energy for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons within the indicated windows of centrality, transverse momentum ($p_T$) and rapidity ($y$). The open symbols indicate ALICE results for Pb+Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV at $p_{T}$ values of 2.0 and 1.4 GeV/c for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ mesons, respectively, corresponding to the $p_{T}$ bin nearest to the mean $p_{T}$ for the 1.0 – 5.0 GeV/$c$ range assumed for each meson in the present analysis. The red solid curve is a fit to data in the range of $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 19.6$ to 200 GeV, based on a theoretical calculation with a $\phi$-meson field. Parameter sensitivity of $\rho_{00}$ to the $\phi$-meson field is shown in Ref.5. The red dashed line is an extension of the solid curve with the fitted parameter $G_s^{(y)}$. The black dashed line represents $\rho_{00}=1/3.$

Global spin alignment of $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons in heavy-ion collisions. The measured matrix element $\rho_{00}$ as a function of beam energy for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ vector mesons within the indicated windows of centrality, transverse momentum ($p_T$) and rapidity ($y$). The open symbols indicate ALICE results for Pb+Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV at $p_{T}$ values of 2.0 and 1.4 GeV/c for the $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ mesons, respectively, corresponding to the $p_{T}$ bin nearest to the mean $p_{T}$ for the 1.0 – 5.0 GeV/$c$ range assumed for each meson in the present analysis. The red solid curve is a fit to data in the range of $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 19.6$ to 200 GeV, based on a theoretical calculation with a $\phi$-meson field. Parameter sensitivity of $\rho_{00}$ to the $\phi$-meson field is shown in Ref.5. The red dashed line is an extension of the solid curve with the fitted parameter $G_s^{(y)}$. The black dashed line represents $\rho_{00}=1/3.$

Example of combinatorial background subtracted invariant mass distributions and the extracted yields as a function of $\cos \theta^*$ for $\phi$ and $K^{*0}$ mesons. \textbf{a)} example of $\phi \rightarrow K^+ + K^-$ invariant mass distributions, with combinatorial background subtracted, integrated over $\cos \theta^*$; \textbf{b)} example of $K^{*0} (\overline{K^{*0}}) \rightarrow K^{-} \pi^{+} (K^{+} \pi^{-})$ invariant mass distributions, with combinatorial background subtracted, integrated over $\cos \theta^*$; \textbf{c)} extracted yields of $\phi$ as a function of $\cos \theta^*$; \textbf{d)} extracted yields of $K^{*0}$ as a function of $\cos \theta^*$.

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Hyperon Production in $e^+ e^-$ Interactions in the $\Upsilon$ Region

The CLEO collaboration Alam, M.S. ; Csorna, S.E. ; Garren, L. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 53 (1984) 24, 1984.
Inspire Record 200712 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.20410

We report measurements from the CLEO detector of the rate of Ξ and Λ production in e+e− interactions in the upsilon region. Hyperon production from the decay of the ϒ(1s) is compared with continuum e+e− data. The ratio of the production rates of Λ (and Λ―) to K0 (and K―0) on the ϒ(1s) is 0.21 ± 0.03, much larger than in the continuum, 0.07 ± 0.01. The ratios of the production rates of the Ξ and Λ are comparable, 0.10±0.02 [ϒ(1S)] and 0.07 ± 0.02 (continuum). We discuss some implications of the data for gluon and quark fragmentation models.

2 data tables

CONTINUUM IS ECM 10.38 TO 10.64 GEV.

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Properties of Inclusive Hadron Spectra in Muon Nucleon Scattering at 150-GeV/c

Anderson, H.L. ; Bharadwaj, V.K. ; Booth, N.E. ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 36 (1976) 1422, 1976.
Inspire Record 3759 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.3268

We have studied muon-produced hadrons from a deuterium target. The structure functions and the charge ratios are reported for neutrons; the transverse momentum and azimuthal distributions are reported for deuterons. The structure function for the neutron is similar to that of the proton. The charge ratio of produced hadrons follows the expectation of a simple spin-½ quark model. Transverse-momentum results agree with those at lower energy and are similar to those from hadron-hadron interactions. No azimuthal anisotropy is seen.

10 data tables

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