D. Duda

Research summary

Hadronic atom spectroscopy at the CERN PS with the DIRAC experiment and the related AEgIS antiproton-gravity programme organises this corpus. The π+π− atom lifetime measurement on a 21,227-pair sample delivered a 4% determination of the S-wave ππ scattering-length difference |a0−a2| = (0.2533 ± ...) Mπ+−1, providing a precision test of Chiral Perturbation Theory predictions [1]. A first observation of πK atoms produced by 24 GeV/c protons on nickel targets reported 178 ± 49 atomic K pairs and 653 ± 42 produced atoms, yielding a first πK atom lifetime of (2.5 +3.0/−1.8) fs and a first measurement of the S-wave isospin-odd πK scattering length [2]. A subsequent observation of π−K+ and π+K− atoms with the upgraded DIRAC apparatus reported 349 ± 62 atomic pairs at 5.6σ significance from platinum or nickel foil targets [3]. The full πK sample was then used for a lifetime measurement τ = (5.5 +5.0/−2.8) × 10^−15 s, which through a ~1%-precision lifetime/scattering-length relation pinned the S-wave isospin-odd πK scattering length [4]. A 2019 PRL reported the first observation of long-lived π+π− atoms produced on a beryllium target and crossing a 96 mm gap to a 2.1 μm platinum foil where they dissociated; from n_A^L = 436 (+157/−61) the 2p-state lifetime τ_2p = (0.45 +1.08/−0.30) × 10^−11 s is consistent with the QED prediction 1.17 × 10^−11 s and is three orders of magnitude larger than the ground-state value, opening a route to the 2a0+a2 combination [5,7]. A complementary detector-development paper compares planar and 3D silicon pixel sensors for low-energy antiproton detection in the AEgIS antihydrogen gravity measurement, where antihydrogen annihilation on the silicon surface determines its position for the deflection-based test of the Weak Equivalence Principle [6]. The works combine precision QCD tests via hadronic-atom lifetimes [1,2,3,4,5] with detector R&D supporting matter-antimatter symmetry experiments [6].

Recent publications

1. Determination of ππ scattering lengths from measurement of π+π− atom lifetime2011 · Physics Letters B · 52 citationsDOI
2. First πK atom lifetime and πK scattering length measurements2014 · Physics Letters B · 25 citationsDOI
3. Observation ofπ−K+andπ+K−Atoms2016 · Physical Review Letters · 14 citationsDOI
4. Measurement of the πK atom lifetime and the πK scattering length2017 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D · 11 citationsDOI
5. Die endoskopisch-mikrochirurgische Dissektion der Speiseröhre: ein Beitrag zur Reduzierung pulmonaler Komplikationen nach Oesophagusresektion?1990 · Langenbeck s Archives of Surgery · 7 citationsDOI
6. First Measurement of a Long-Lived π+π− Atom Lifetime2019 · Physical Review Letters · 5 citationsDOI
7. Die endoskopisch-mikrochirurgische Dissektion der Speiseröhre — Tierexperimentelle Ergebnisse1988 · 4 citationsDOI
8. Comparison of Planar and 3D Silicon Pixel Sensors Used for Detection of Low Energy Antiprotons2014 · IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science · 4 citationsDOI
9. EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL E COMPOSTAGEM: GUIA PARA PROFISSIONAIS DA CADEIA DE FERTILIZANTES ORGÂNICOS2025DOI
10. Search for Long-Lived States of $\pi^+\pi^-$ Atoms : Addendum to the DIRAC Proposal2011 · CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research)

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External profiles

• ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5916-3467
• OpenAlex: openalex.org

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