Nuclear effects in protonium formation low-energy three-body reaction: p̄ + (pμ)_1s → (p̄p)_α + μ⁻: Strong p̄–p interaction in p̄ + (pμ)_1s

Department of Information Systems, BCRL & Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility (ISELF) at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN, 56301-4498, USA

^a e-mail: rasultanov@stcloudstate.edu
^b e-mail: dcguster@stcloudstate.edu

Published online: 21 June 2016

Abstract

A three-charge-particle system (p̄, μ⁻, p⁺) with an additional matter-antimatter, i.e. p̄–p⁺, nuclear interaction is the subject of this work. Specifically, we carry out a few-body computation of the following protonium formation reaction: p̄ + (p⁺μ⁻)_1s → (p̄p⁺)_1s + μ⁻, where p⁺ is a proton, p̄ is an antiproton, μ⁻ is a muon, and a bound state of p⁺ and its counterpart p̄ is a protonium atom: Pn = (p̄p⁺). The low-energy cross sections and rates of the Pn formation reaction are computed in the framework of a Faddeev-like equation formalism. The strong p̄–p⁺ interaction is approximately included in this calculation.