Extraction of Polarization Parameters in the $\bar{\mathrm{p}}\mathrm{p}\to \bar{\Omega }\Omega$ Reaction

Abstract

A method to extract the polarization of $\Omega$ hyperons produced via the strong interaction is presented. Assuming they are spin 3/2 particles, the corresponding spin density matrix can be written in terms of seven non-zero polarization parameters, all retrievable from the angular distribution of the decay products. Moreover by considering the full decay chain $\Omega \to \Lambda K\to p\pi K$ the magnitude of the asymmetry parameters ${\beta }_{\Omega }$ and ${\gamma }_{\Omega }$ can be obtained. This method, applied here to the specific $\Omega$ case, can be generalized to any weakly decaying hyperon and is perfectly suited for the PANDA experiment where hyperon-antihyperon pairs will be copiously produced in proton-antiproton collisions. The aim is to take a step forward towards the understanding of the mechanism that reigns strangeness production in these processes.

Comments: This contribution was written for the FAIRness 2017 workshop and will appear in the Open Access Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS)