ACTA

EXKALIBUR: Towards a Kaonic Atoms Periodic Table to Test Fundamental Interactions

S. Manti^a, L. Abbene^{a, b}, F. Artibani^{a, c}, M. Bazzi^a, G. Borghi^{d, e}, D. Bosnar^f, M. Bragadireanu^g, A. Buttacavoli^{a, b}, M. Carminati^{d, e}, F. Clozza^{a, h}, A. Clozza^a, L. De Paolis^a, R. Del Grande^{a, i}, K. Dulski^{a, j, k}, L. Fabbietti^a, C. Fiorini^{d, e}, I. Friščić^f, M. Iliescu^a, P. Indelicato^m, M. Iwasakiⁿ, A. Khreptak^{a, j, k}, J. Marton^{o, p}, P. Moskal^{j, k}, H. Ohnishi^r, K. Pischicchia^{a, s}, F. Principato^{a, b}, A. Scordo^a, F. Sgaramella^a, M. Silarski^j, D. Sirgh^{a, g, s}, F. Sirghi^{a, g}, M. Skurzok^{a, j, k}, A. Spallone^a, K. Toho^r, L. Toscano^{d, e}, O. Vazquez Doce^a, C. Curceanu^{a, g}
^aLaboratori Nazionali di Frascati INFN, Frascati, Italy
^bDepartment of Physics and Chemistry, Emilio Segré, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
^cUniversitá degli studi di Roma Tre, Dipartimento di Fisica, Roma, Italy
^dPolitecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Milano, Italy
^eINFN Sezione di Milano, Milano, Italy
^fDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
^gIFIN-HH, Institutul National pentru Fizica si Inginerie Nucleara Horia Hulubei, 30 Reactorului, 077125 Magurele, Romania
^hUniversitá degli studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Dipartimento di Fisica, Roma, Italy
ⁱFaculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 7, 115 19 Prague, Czech Republic
^jFaculty of Physics, Astronomy, and Applied Computer Science, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
^kCenter for Theranostics, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
^lPhysik Department E62, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
^mLaboratoire Kastler Brossel, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, ENS-PSL Research University, Collége de France, Case 74; 4, place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France
ⁿRIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
^oStefan Meyer Institute for Subatomic Physics, Vienna, Austria
^pAtominstitut, Technische Universität Wien, Stadionallee 2, 1020 Vienna, Austria
^rResearch Center for Accelerator and Radioisotope Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
^sCentro Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche ``Enrico Fermi'', Roma, Italy

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Kaonic atoms, formed when a negatively charged kaon replaces an electron, provide a unique laboratory to test fundamental interactions at low energies. EXKALIBUR (EXtensive Kaonic Atoms research: from LIthium and Beryllium to URanium) is a program to perform systematic, high-precision X-ray spectroscopy of selected kaonic atoms across the periodic table at the DAΦNE accelerator at the National Laboratory of Frascati. Here, we outline its detector-driven strategy: silicon drift detectors for 10-40 keV transitions in light targets (Li, Be, B, O), CdZnTe detectors for 40-300 keV lines in intermediate-Z systems (Mg, Al, Si, S), and a high-purity germanium detector for high-Z atoms (Se, Zr, Ta, Mo, W, Pb), complemented by VOXES, a high-resolution crystal spectrometer for sub-eV studies. EXKALIBUR plans to (i) reduce the charged-kaon mass uncertainty below 10 keV, (ii) produce a database of nuclear shifts and widths to constrain multi-nucleon K^--nucleus interactions models, and (iii) provide precision data for testing bound-state quantum electrodynamics in strong fields. We summarize the planned measurements and expected sensitivities within DAΦNE luminosities.

DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.148.S89
topics: kaonic atoms, X-ray spectroscopy, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), quantum electrodynamics (QED)