We point out that two models that reconcile the neutron lifetime anomaly via dark decays of the neutron, also predict dark matter-neutron ($\barχ-n$) annihilation that may be observable in neutron-antineutron oscillation and proton decay searches at Super-Kamiokande, Hyper-Kamiokande and DUNE. We study signatures of $\barχn\to γπ^0$ (or multi-$π^0$) and $\barχn\to ϕγπ^0$ (or $ϕ+$multi-$π^0$), where $ϕ$ is an almost massless boson in one of the two models.
Lattice QCD and other theoretical models predict that the 0(-+), 2(++) and 2(-+) glueballs have masses in the range of 2.0 to 2.4 GeV. For resonances in such an energy range, three-body decay modes are expected to be large. The strategy for looking for these glueballs and the newest results from studying Crystal Barrel data on the three-body annihilation of proton-antiproton in flight are presented.
Recent strong experimental evidence of a narrow exotic S = +1 baryon resonance, $Θ^+$, suggests the existence of other exotic baryons. We discuss the prospects of confirming earlier experimental evidence of $Θ^+$ and the observation of additional hypothetical exotic baryons in $e^+e^-$ annihilations and $γγ$ collisions at LEP and B Factories.
One method to search for particle dark matter is to hunt down its annihilation products. In the Solar System, three potential types of signals of annihilation have been identified: neutrinos and gamma-rays from the Sun, and neutrinos from the Earth. Each of these signals depends sensitively on the orbital evolution of dark matter once it becomes bound to the Solar System. I will review progress on characterizing these signals based on recent improvements in the determination of the properties of the bound dark matter population.
The pentaquark component is included in the proton wave functions to study phi meson production proton-antiproton annihilation reactions. With all possible configurations of the uuds subsystem proposed for describing the strangeness spin and magnetic moment of the proton, we estimate the branching ratios of the annihilation reactions at rest proton-antiproton to phi + X (X=pi, eta, rho, omega) from atomic proton-antiproton S- and P-wave states by using effective quark line diagrams incorporating the 3P0 model. The best agreement of theoretical prediction with the experimental data is found whe…
A review of the current experimental results on searches for Higgs bosons in models beyond the Standard Model is presented. Searches from ATLAS, CMS and LHCb use datasets from Run 1 of the LHC, including 7 and 8 TeV proton-proton collisions. Searches from CDF and D0 use the full or partial 1.96 TeV proton-anti-proton collision datasets from the Tevatron.
Radiative corrections to the annihilation of proton--antiproton into electron--positron are revisited, including virtual and real (soft and hard) photon emission. This issue is relevant for the time-like form factors measurements planned at the PANDA experiment at the FAIR facility, in next future. The relevant formulas are given. A stand-alone Monte-Carlo integrator is developed on the basis of the calculated radiative cross section and its application to the PANDA experiment is illustrated.
We study the prospects of detecting muon events at the upcoming Iron CALorimeter (ICAL) detector to be built at the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) facility due to neutrinos arising out of annihilation of Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMP) in the centre of the earth. The atmospheric neutrinos coming from the direction of earth core presents an irreducible background. We consider 50kt $\times$ 10 years of ICAL running and WIMP masses between 10-100 GeV and present 90 \% C.L. exclusion sensitivity limits on $σ_{SI}$ which is the WIMP-nucleon Spin Independent (SI) interac…
The annihilation of proton and antiproton to electron-positron pair, including radiative corrections due to the emission of virtual and real photons is considered. The results are generalized to leading and next-to leading approximations. The relevant distributions are derived and numerical applications are given in the kinematical range accessible to the PANDA experiment at the FAIR facility.
We have searched for anomalous production of missing E$_{\rm T}$ ($\mett$), jets, leptons ($e, μ, τ$), $b$-quarks, or additional photons in events containing two isolated, central \mbox{($|η|<1.0$)} photons with \mbox{$\Et>12$~GeV}. The results are consistent with standard model expectations, with the possible exception of one event that has in addition to the two photons a central electron, a high-E$_{\rm T}$ electromagnetic cluster, and large $\mett$. We set limits using two specific SUSY scenarios for production of diphoton events with $\mett$.
We present a detailed description of a search for anomalous production of missing E_T ($\mett$), jets, leptons ($e, μ, τ$), b-quarks, or additional photons in events containing two isolated, central ($|η|<1.0$) photons with $\Et > 12$ GeV}. The results are consistent with standard model expectations, with the possible exception of one event that has in addition to the two photons a central electron, a high-E_T electromagnetic cluster, and large $\mett$. We set limits using two specific SUSY scenarios for production of diphoton events with $\mett$.
We present a model-independent interpretation of searches for dark matter annihilation in the Sun using an effective field theory approach. We identify a set of effective operators contributing to spin-dependent scattering of dark matter with protons in the non-relativistic limit and explore simple new physics models which would give rise to such operators. Using the limits on the spin-dependent scattering cross-section set by the IceCube collaboration in their search for dark matter annihilation in the Sun, we derive limits on effective couplings and corresponding masses of mediating particle…
We evaluate the cross section for anti-p p -> l+ l- pi0 in the forward direction and for large lepton pair invariant mass. In this kinematical region, the leading-twist amplitude factorises into a short-distance matrix element, long-distance dominated antiproton Distribution Amplitudes and proton to pion Transition Distribution Amplitudes (TDA). Using a modelling inspired from the chiral limit for these TDAs, we obtain a first estimate of this cross section, thus demonstrating that this process can be measured at GSI-FAIR.
Annihilation process of proton and antiproton to guark antiquark pair accompanied by emission of two additional gluon jets with intermediate state of vector meson is considered.Strong azimuthal correlation is revealed of two gluonic jets,effectively created in the same plane.Some applications to cosmic ray events and to LHC experiments are discussed.
In a large class of models we show that the light scalar field responsible for the Sommerfeld enhancement in the annihilation of dark matter leads to observable direct detection rates, due to its mixing with the standard model Higgs. As a result the large annihilation cross-section of dark matter at present epoch, required to explain the observed cosmic ray anomalies, can be strongly constrained by direct searches. In particular Sommerfeld boost factors of order of a few hundred are already out of the CDMS-II upper bound at 90% confidence level for reasonable values of the model parameters.
We consider the use of directionality in the search for monoenergetic sub-GeV neutrinos arising from the decay of stopped kaons, which can be produced by dark matter annihilation in the core of the Sun. When these neutrinos undergo charged-current interactions with a nucleus at a neutrino detector, they often eject a proton which is highly peaked in the forward direction. The direction of this track can be measured at DUNE, allowing one to distinguish signal from background by comparing on-source and off-source event rates. We find that directional information can enhance the signal to backgro…
We present two modules as part of the Czech Particle Physics Project (CPPP). These modules are intended as learning tools in masterclasses aimed at high-school students (aged 15 to 18). The first module is dedicated to the detection of an Axion-Like-Particle (ALP) using the ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector. The second module focuses on the reconstruction of the Higgs boson mass using the Higgs boson golden channel with four leptons in the final state. The modules are accessible at http://cern.ch/cppp.
Apparent channel-dependent violations of the OZI rule in nucleon-antinucleon annihilation reactions are discussed in the presence of an intrinsic strangeness component in the nucleon. Admixture of strange-antistrange quark pairs in the nucleon wave function enables the direct coupling to the phi-meson in the annihilation channel without violating the OZI rule. Three forms are considered in this work for the strangeness content of the proton wave function, namely, the uud cluster with a strange-antistrange sea quark component, kaon-hyperon clusters based on a simple chiral quark model, and the …
Exclusive proton-antiproton annihilation into two photons can be viewed as the Compton process in the crossed channel. At large s (~10 GeV^2) and |t|,|u| s this process can be described by a generalized partonic picture, analogous to the 'soft mechanism' in wide-angle real Compton scattering. The two photons are emitted in the annihilation of a single fast quark and antiquark ('handbag graph'). The transition of the p-pbar system to a q-qbar pair through soft interactions is described by double distributions, which can be related to the timelike proton elastic form factors as well as, by cross…
The recent data from PAMELA and Fermi-LAT can be interpreted as evidence of new astrophysical sources of high energy positrons. In that case, such astrophysical positrons constitute an additional background against the positrons from dark matter annihilation. In this paper, we study the effect of that background on the prospects for the detection of a positron dark matter signal in future experiments. In particular, we determine the new regions in the (mass, $\sigmav$) plane that are detectable by the AMS-02 experiment for several dark matter scenarios and different propagation models. We find…
For decades, searches for electroweak-scale dark matter (DM) have been performed without a definitive detection. This lack of success may hint that DM searches have focused on the wrong mass range. A proposed candidate beyond the canonical parameter space is ultra-heavy DM (UHDM). In this work, we consider indirect UHDM annihilation searches for masses between 30 TeV and 30 PeV, extending well beyond the unitarity limit at $\sim$100 TeV, and discuss the basic requirements for DM models in this regime. We explore the feasibility of detecting the annihilation signature, and the expected reach fo…
The main aim of this paper is a new determination of transverse momentum dependence of unpolarized fragmentation function (TMD FFs) in single inclusive hadron production in electron-positron annihilation (SIA) process. Motivated by the need for a reliable and consistent determination of TMD FFs, we use the most recent TMD production cross sections of charged pions ($π^\pm$), kaons ($K^\pm$) and protons/antiprotons ($p/\bar{p}$) measured in inclusive $e^+e^-$ collisions by Belle Collaboration. These datasets are the first transverse momentum dependence of identified light charged hadron measure…
We present the first results of searches for new physics with the ATLAS detector using the 2010 Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collision data at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. After a few months of operation, these searches already go beyond the reach of previous experiments, and start to explore new territories.
Antiproton--proton annihilation into light neutral mesons in the few GeV energy domain is investigated in view of a global description of the existing data and predictions for future experiments at PANDA, FAIR. An effective meson model earlier developed, with mesonic and baryonic degrees of freedom in $s$, $t$, and $u$ channels, is applied here to $π^0π^0$ production. Form factors with logarithmic $s$ and $t(u)$ dependencies are applied. A fair agreement with the existing angular distributions is obtained. Applying SU(3) symmetry, it is straightforward to recover the angular distributions for …
We examine models and prospects for proton annihilation to dileptons, a process which violates baryon and lepton number each by two. We determine that currently Super-Kamiokande would place the most draconian bound on $pp \rightarrow \ell^+ \ell^+$, ruling out new physics below a scale of $\sim 1.6$ TeV. We also find present and future hadron collider sensitivity to these processes. While 8 TeV LHC data excludes new physics at a scale below $\sim 800$ GeV, the reach of a 14 TeV LHC run is $\sim 1.8$ TeV, putting it on par with the sensitivity of Super-Kamiokande. On the other hand, a 100 TeV p…
Antiproton--proton annihilation into light mesons is revisited in the few GeV energy domain, in view of a global description of the existing data. An effective meson model is developed, with mesonic and baryonic degrees od freedom in $s$, $t$, and $u$ channels. Regge factors are added to reproduce the proper energy behavior and the forward and backward peaked behavior. A comparison with existing data and predictions for angular distributions and energy dependence are done for charged and neutral pion pair production.
The next-to-leading order of the differential cross section of the subprocess of annihilation of quark-antiquark pair of prompt photon production in proton-proton collisions at NICA energies
Baku State University（巴库国立大学）；Institute for Physical Problems, Baku State University（巴库国立大学物理问题研究所）
An overview of the recent searches for Higgs boson pair production at the LHC was presented. The searches were based on approximately 140 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. With respect to the previous searches, analysis techniques were significantly improved, and new signatures and decays channels were explored.
We present a geometric interpretation of the so-called annihilation range in reactions of the type $\bar pp \to$ {\em two light mesons} based upon Lorentz effects in the highly relativistic final states ($γ=E_{\mathrm{cm}}/2mc^2\simeq 6.8-8.0$). Lorentz-boosted meson wave functions, within the framework of the constituent quark model, result in a richer angular dependence of the annihilation amplitudes and thus in higher partial wave contributions ($J>1$) than usually obtained. This approach sheds some light on what could be a "{\em short}" annihilation range and how it is influenced by the an…
We consider the propagation and energy losses of protons and anti-protons produced by dark matter annihilation at redshifts 100<z<~2000. In the case of dark matter annihilations into quarks, gluons and weak gauge bosons, protons and anti-protons carry about 20% of the energy injected into e^\pm and γ's, but their interactions are normally neglected when deriving cosmic microwave background bounds from altered recombination histories. Here, we follow numerically the energy-loss history of typical protons/antiprotons in the cosmological medium. We show that about half of their energy is channele…
We propose to describe the process $ p ~ \bar{p} \rightarrow π^+ ~ π^-$ in a perturbative, QCD motivated framework in which a hard $ud \, \bar{u} \bar{d} \rightarrow d \, \bar{d} $ annihilation factorizes from soft transition distribution amplitudes. We advocate that the scale allowing for this factorization is the large transverse momentum transfer. In our simplified model, in which the proton is considered as a (scalar)diqark-quark system, a transition distribution amplitude describes the non-perturbative transition of the proton to the meson by emission of a scalar, isoscalar $ ud $-diquark…
Quark model intrinsic wave functions of highly energetic pions in the reaction \bar pp->π^-π^+ are subjected to a relativistic treatment. The annihilation is described in a constituent quark model with A2 and R2 flavor-flux topology and the annihilated quark-antiquark pairs are in 3P_0 and 3S_1 states. We study the effects of pure Lorentz transformations on the antiquark and quark spatial wave functions and their respective spinors in the pion. The modified quark geometry of the pion has considerable impact on the angular dependence of the annihilation mechanisms.
The latest results from CMS on searches for supersymmetry are presented. Searches involving all-hadronic final states with jets and missing transverse energy, and in final states including one or more isolated leptons are discussed. The results are based on 19.5/fb of LHC proton-proton collisions at sqrt = 8 TeV taken with the CMS detector.
We extend previous calculations of polarization observables for the annihilation reaction $\bar p +p\to \ell^{-}+\ell^{+}$ to the case of heavy leptons, such as the $τ$-lepton. We consider the case when the beam and/or the target are polarized, as well as the polarization of the outgoing leptons. We give the dependence of the unpolarized cross section, angular asymmetry, and various polarization observables on the relevant kinematical variables in the center of mass and in the laboratory system, with particular attention to the effect of the mass induced terms.
We study the production of charmed mesons (D, D_s) in antiproton-proton annihilation close to the reaction thresholds. The elementary charm production process is described by baryon exchange and in the constituent quark model, respectively. Effects of the interactions in the initial and final states are taken into account rigorously. The calculations are performed in close analogy to our earlier study on pbarp to KbarK by connecting the processes via SU(4) flavor symmetry. Our predictions for the DDbar production cross section are in the order of 10^{-2} -- 10^{-1} mu b. They turned out to be …
We consider a new technique for neutrino energy and topology reconstruction at DUNE. In particular, we show that when the direction of the incoming neutrino is known, one can use the measured directions of the outgoing leptonic and hadronic particles to reconstruct poorly-measured quantities, such as the hadronic cascade energy. We show that this alternative technique yields an energy resolution which is comparable to current reconstruction methods which sum measured energies. As a proof of concept we apply this new reconstruction method to a search for dark matter annihilation in the Sun. We …
The search for sharp features in the gamma-ray spectrum is a promising approach to identify a signal from dark matter annihilations over the astrophysical backgrounds. In this paper we investigate the generation of gamma-ray lines and internal bremsstrahlung signals in a toy model where the dark matter particle is a real scalar that couples to a lepton and an exotic fermion via a Yukawa coupling. We show that the Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. searches for line-like spectral features severely constrain regions of the parameter space where the scalar dark matter is thermally produced. Finally, we also …
The large set of accurate data on differential cross section and analyzing power from the CERN LEAR experiment on $\bar pp \to π^+π^-$ in the range from 360 to 1550 MeV/c is well reproduced within a distorted wave approximation approach. The initial $\bar pp$ scattering wave functions originate from a recent $\bar N N$ model. The transition operator is obtained from a combination of the $^3P_0$ and $^3S_1$ quark-antiquark annihilation mechanisms. A good fit to the data, in particular the reproduction of the double dip structure observed in the analyzing powers, requires quark wave functions fo…
This study focuses on the multiple parton scattering theory as a background for the new measurement of the inclusive cross section of the vector boson pair production at the LHC energies. The process under study is the double Drell-Yan annihilation. In this case, two quark-antiquark annihilations occur independently in one proton-proton annihilation. The final state with two pairs of leptons (electron or muon pair) is investigated while the intermedial vector boson can be both gamma and Z.
It has been recently pointed out that any primary galactic population of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMP) generates, through collisions with solar matter, a secondary population of ``slow'' WIMPs trapped in the inner solar system. We show that taking into account this ``slow'' solar-system population dramatically enhances the possibility to probe the existence of stable massive neutrinos (of a 4th generation) in underground neutrino experiments. Our work suggests that a reanalysis of existing underground neutrino data should be able to bring extremely tight constraints on the possib…
Fermi-LAT observations have strongly constrained dark matter annihilation through the joint-likelihood analysis of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). These constraints are expected to be robust because dSphs have measurable dark matter content and produce negligible astrophysical emission. However, each dSph is dim, with a predicted flux that typically falls below the accuracy of the background model. We show that this significantly diminishes the reliability of previous joint-likelihood algorithms, and develop an improved analysis that directly accounts for the effect of background mismodelin…
The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatory is a wide field-of-view observatory sensitive to 0.5 TeV - 100 TeV gamma-rays and cosmic-rays in the State of Puebla, Mexico at an altitude of 4100m. The HAWC observatory performed an indirect search for dark matter via GeV-TeV photons resulting from dark matter annihilation and decay considering various sources, including dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs), the M31 galaxy and the Virgo cluster, as well as a combined limit using the dSphs. HAWC has not seen statistically significant excess from these sources. We searched for dark ma…
If dark matter (DM) is a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) that is a thermal relic of the early Universe, then its total self-annihilation cross section is revealed by its present-day mass density. The canonical thermally averaged cross section for a generic WIMP is usually stated as 3*10^-26 cm^3s^-1, with unspecified uncertainty, and taken to be independent of WIMP mass. Recent searches for annihilation products of DM annihilation have just reached the sensitivity to exclude this canonical cross section for 100% branching ratio to certain final states and small WIMP masses. The ulti…
The annihilation of a lepton pair into a proton-antiproton pair, and the reverse process, allow for a measurement of the timelike proton form factors. This work aims at studying the corrections due to direct soft interactions between the proton and the antiproton before their annihilation or after their creation. The analysis is carried on in the spacetime formalism used by us in a series of recent works on timelike FFs. In particular the effect of $\bar{p}p$ annihilation into many-meson states is considered. We expect it to determine similar real and imaginary parts for the form factor near t…
Dark matter (DM) coupled to light mediators has been invoked to resolve the putative discrepancies between collisionless cold DM and galactic structure observations. However, $γ$-ray searches and the CMB strongly constrain such scenarios. To ease the tension, we consider asymmetric DM. We show that, contrary to the common lore, detectable annihilations occur even for large asymmetries, and derive bounds from the CMB, $γ$-ray, neutrino and antiproton searches. We then identify the viable space for self-interacting DM. Direct detection does not exclude this scenario, but provides a way to test i…
A glimpse into the most recent searches for Dark Matter at the LHC performed by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations is presented. The results covered in this document are all based on Run-2 proton-proton collision data recorded at $\sqrt{s}=13\text{ TeV}$ and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of just under 140 $\text{fb}^{-1}$
Strangeness enhancement and collective flow are considered signatures of the quark gluon plasma formation. These phenomena have been detected not only in relativistic heavy ion collisions but also in high energy, high multiplicity events of proton-proton and proton-nucleus ("small systems") scatterings. Indeed, a universal behavior emerges by considering the parton density in the transverse plane as the dynamical quantity to specify the initial condition of the collisions. On the other hand, $e^+ e^-$ annihilation data at LEP and lower energies indicate that there is no strangeness enhancement…
In order to observe annihilation and decay of dark matter, several types of potential sources should be considered. Some sources, such as dwarf galaxies, are expected to have very low astrophysical backgrounds but fairly small dark matter densities. Other sources, like the Galactic center, are expected to have larger densities of dark matter but also have more complicated backgrounds from other astrophysical sources. To search for signatures of dark matter, the large field-of-view of the HAWC detector, covering 2 sr at a time, especially enables searches from sources of dark matter annihilatio…
The process p-pbar -> Lambda_c-Antilambda_c is investigated within the handbag approach. It is shown that the dominant dynamical mechanism, characterized by the partonic subprocess u-ubar -> c-cbar factorizes in the sense that only the subprocess contains highly virtual partons, a gluon to lowest order of perturbative QCD, while the hadronic matrix elements embody only soft scales and can be parameterized in terms of helicity flip and non-flip generalized parton distributions. Modelling these parton distributions by overlaps of light-cone wave functions for the involved baryons we are able to …
Contrary to the reaction pbar + p --> e+ e- with a high momentum incident antiproton on a free target proton at rest, in which the invariant mass M of the (e+ e-) pair is necessarily much larger than the (pbar p) mass, in the reaction pbar + d --> n e+ e- the value of M can take values near or below the (pbar p) mass. In the antiproton-deuteron electromagnetic annihilation, this allows to access the proton electromagnetic form factors in the time-like region of q^2 near the (pbar p) threshold. We estimate the cross section dsigma(pbar +d --> e+ e- n)/dM for an antiproton beam momentum of 1.5 G…
We propose to describe the process $ p \bar{p} \,\to\, \bar{D^0} D^0$ in a perturbative QCD motivated framework where a double-handbag hard process $ u d \bar u \bar d \to \bar{c} c$ factorizes from transition distribution amplitudes, which are quasi forward hadronic matrix elements of $Ψ_q Ψ_q Ψ_c $ operators, where q denotes light quarks and c denotes the heavy quark. We advocate that the charm-quark mass acts as the large scale allowing this factorization. We calculate this process in the simplified framework of the scalar diquark model and present the expected cross sections for the PANDA …
The installation of forward proton detectors at the LHC will provide the possibility to observe central exclusive processes, opening a novel window on physics beyond the Standard Model. We review recent developments on the discovery potential from central exclusive light-by-light scattering. The search for this process is expected to provide bounds on a wide range of particles, and turns out to be complementary from new physics searches in inclusive channels.
We study the production of charmed mesons (D) and baryons (Lambda_c) in antiproton-proton (app) annihilation close to their respective production thresholds. The elementary charm production process is described by either baryon/meson exchange or by quark/gluon dynamics. Effects of the interactions in the initial and final states are taken into account rigorously. The calculations are performed in close analogy to our earlier study on app -> antiLambda-Lambda and app -> antiK-K by connecting the processes via SU(4) flavor symmetry. Our predictions for the antiLambda_c-Lambda_c production cross …
The existence of dark matter (DM) was first noticed by Zwicky in the 1930s, but its nature remains one of the great unsolved problems of physics. A variety of observations indicate that it is non-baryonic and non-relativistic. One of the preferred candidates for non-baryonic DM is a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) that in most models is stable. WIMP self-annihilation can produce cosmic rays, gamma rays, and other particles with signatures that may be detectable. Hints of anomalous cosmic-ray spectra found by recent experiments, such as PAMELA, have motivated interesting interpretati…
In the reaction of the antiproton-deuteron electromagnetic annihilation pbar + d --> e+e-n the value of the invariant mass M of the (e+e-) pair can be near or below the (pbar p) mass even for enough high momentum of incident antiproton. This allows to access the proton electromagnetic form factors in the time-like region of q^2 near the (pbar p) threshold. We estimate the cross section dsigma(pbar + d --> e+e-n)/dM for an antiproton beam momentum of 1.5 GeV/c. We find that near the (pbar p) threshold this cross section is about 1 pb/MeV. The case of heavy nuclei target is also discussed. Eleme…
The production and annihilation of antiprotons in the hadronic phase of heavy-ion collisions is evaluated within a thermal equilibrium approach. It is shown that the inverse reaction of $p\bar p$ annihilation (i.e., multi-pion annihilation $N_ππ\to p\bar p$ with $N_π\simeq$~5-7) in connection with oversaturation of pion phase space (i.e., finite pion chemical potentials) plays an important role in understanding the observed antiproton yields at SpS energies within the standard picture of subsequent chemical and thermal freezeout. Implications for RHIC energies are also addressed.
The centrality dependence of the $p/π$ ratio measured by the ALICE Collaboration in 5.02 TeV Pb-Pb collisions indicates a statistically significant suppression with the increase of the charged particle multiplicity once the centrality-correlated part of the systematic uncertainty is eliminated from the data. We argue that this behavior can be attributed to baryon annihilation in the hadronic phase. By implementing the $B\bar{B} \leftrightarrow 5π$ reaction within a generalized partial chemical equilibrium framework, we estimate the annihilation freeze-out temperature at different centralities,…
