New anomaly observed in 4He supports the existence of the hypothetical X17 particle
FOLYÓIRAT PUBLIKÁCIÓ
A.J. Krasznahorkay, M. Csatlós, L. Csige, J. Gulyás, A. Krasznahorkay, B.M. Nyakó, I. Rajta, J. Timár, I. Vajda, N.J. Sas:
New anomaly observed in 4He supports the existence of the hypothetical X17 particle,
Physical Review C 104, 044003 (2021)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.104.044003
Megjelenés dátuma: 2021. október 18.
Abstract
Angular correlation spectra of e+e− pairs produced in the 3H(p,e+e−)4He nuclear reaction have been studied at Ep=510, 610, and 900 keV proton energies. The main features of the spectra can be understood by taking into account the internal and external pair creations following the proton capture by 3H. However, these processes cannot account for an observed peak around 115∘ in the angular correlation spectra. This anomalous excess of e+e− pairs can be described by the creation and subsequent decay of a light particle during the direct capture process. The derived mass of the particle is mXc2=16.94±0.12(stat)±0.21(syst) MeV. According to the mass this is likely the same X17 particle, which we recently suggested [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 042501 (2016)] for describing the anomaly observed in the decay of 8Be.