Investigation of hypernuclei with the WASA detector at the fragment separator at GSI

In particle and nuclear physics, the goal of understanding fundamental interactions has led to the development of comprehensive theoretical models and sophisticated experimental techniques. This Ph.D. thesis explores the hypernuclei, atomic nuclei containing hyperons, which are particles that include strange quarks as it is a great way to learn more about nuclear forces and general baryonic interactions involving up, down, and strange quarks.The WASA-FRS experimental campaign that was successfully conducted from January to March 2022 at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, along with the extensive preparations preceding it and the preliminary analysis that followed, form the central subject of this thesis. This experiment is a second-generation investigation following the HypHI experiment conducted in 2009. The research is motivated by unresolved puzzles, such as the shorter than theoretically-predicted lifetime of the hypertriton and the mystery of the hypothetical existence of nnΛ bound state, a configuration that is not predicted within the present theoretical models.The central idea of the experiment is the integration of a multi-component large acceptance magnetic spectrometer, that includes a WASA detector at the Fragment Separator's mid-focal plane. The second half of the Fragment Separator serves as a high-resolution magnetic spectrometer. This configuration enables the precise measurement of particles emitted at wide angles, alongside forward-moving particles within defined acceptance ranges. The thesis describes the experimental preparations, including the development of new detectors such as fiber detectors, and the details of the superconducting solenoid magnet operation. Furthermore, initial data analysis methodologies and some preliminary results were detailed.

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/2962012b-7367-418d-b91e-68f43577ace7