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Omega baryon

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Bubble chamber trace of the first observed Ω baryon event at Brookhaven National Laboratory, adapted from original tracing. The tracks of neutral particles (dashed lines) are not visible in the bubble chamber. The collision of a K meson with a proton creates an Ω, a K0 and a K+. The Ω decays into a π and a Ξ0, which in turn decays into a Λ0 and a π0. The Λ0 decays into a proton and a π. The π0, invisible due to its short lifetime, decays into two photons (γ), which in turn each create an electron-positron pair.

Omega baryons (often called simply Omega particles) are a family of subatomic hadrons which are represented by the symbol
Ω
and are either charge neutral or have a +2, +1 or −1 elementary charge. Additionally, they contain no up or down quarks.[1] Omega baryons containing top quarks are also not expected to be observed. This is because the Standard Model predicts the mean lifetime of top quarks to be roughly 5×10−25 s,[2] which is about a twentieth of the timescale necessary for the strong interactions required for Hadronization, the process by which hadrons form from quarks and gluons.

The first omega baryon was the
Ω
, it was made of three strange quarks, and was discovered in 1964.[3] The discovery was a great triumph in the study of quarks, since it was found only after its existence, mass, and decay products had been predicted in 1961 by the American physicist Murray Gell-Mann and, independently, by the Israeli physicist Yuval Ne'eman. Besides the
Ω
, a charmed omega particle (
Ω0
c
) was discovered in 1985, in which a strange quark is replaced by a charm quark. The
Ω
decays only via the weak interaction and has therefore a relatively long lifetime.[4] Spin (J) and parity (P) values for unobserved baryons are predicted by the quark model.[5]

Since omega baryons do not have any up or down quarks, they all have isospin 0.

Omega baryons

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Quark structure of omega baryon (
Ω
)
Omega
Particle Symbol Quark
content
Rest mass
(MeV/c2)
JP Q
(e)
S C B' Mean lifetime
(s)
Decays to
Omega[6]
Ω

s

s

s
1672.45±0.29 3/2+ −1 −3 0 0 (8.21±0.11)×10−11
Λ0
+
K
or

Ξ0
+
π
or

Ξ
+
π0

Charmed omega[7]
Ω0
c

s

s

c
2697.5±2.6 1/2+ 0 −2 +1 0 (268±24)×10−15 See
Ω0
c
Decay Modes
Bottom omega[8]
Ω
b

s

s

b
6054.4±6.8 1/2+ −1 −2 0 −1 (1.13±0.53)×10−12
Ω
+
J/ψ
(seen)
Double charmed omega†
Ω+
cc

s

c

c
1/2+ +1 −1 +2 0
Charmed bottom omega†
Ω0
cb

s

c

b
1/2+ 0 −1 +1 −1
Double bottom omega†
Ω
bb

s

b

b
1/2+ −1 −1 0 −2
Triple charmed omega†
Ω++
ccc

c

c

c
3/2+ +2 0 +3 0
Double charmed bottom omega†
Ω+
ccb

c

c

b
1/2+ +1 0 +2 −1
Charmed double bottom omega†
Ω0
cbb

c

b

b
1/2+ 0 0 +1 −2
Triple bottom omega†
Ω
bbb

b

b

b
3/2+ −1 0 0 −3

† Particle (or quantity, i.e. spin) has neither been observed nor indicated.

Recent discoveries

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The
Ω
b
particle is a "doubly strange" baryon containing two strange quarks and a bottom quark. A discovery of this particle was first claimed in September 2008 by physicists working on the experiment at the Tevatron facility of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.[9][10] However, the reported mass of 6165±16 MeV/c2 was significantly higher than expected in the quark model. The apparent discrepancy from the Standard Model has since been dubbed the "
Ω
b
puzzle". In May 2009, the CDF collaboration made public their results on the search for the
Ω
b
based on analysis of a data sample roughly four times the size of the one used by the DØ experiment.[8] CDF measured the mass to be 6054.4±6.8 MeV/c2, which was in excellent agreement with the Standard Model prediction. No signal has been observed at the DØ reported value. The two results differ by 111±18 MeV/c2, which is equivalent to 6.2 standard deviations and are therefore inconsistent. Excellent agreement between the CDF measured mass and theoretical expectations is a strong indication that the particle discovered by CDF is indeed the
Ω
b
. In February 2013 the LHCb collaboration published a measurement of the
Ω
b
mass that is consistent with, but more precise than, the CDF result.[11]

In March 2017, the LHCb collaboration announced the observation of five new narrow
Ω0
c
states decaying to
Ξ+
c

K
, where the
Ξ+
c
was reconstructed in the decay mode
p

K

π+
.[12][13] The states are named
Ω
c
(3000)0,
Ω
c
(3050)0,
Ω
c
(3066)0,
Ω
c
(3090)0 and
Ω
c
(3119)0. Their masses and widths were reported, but their quantum numbers could not be determined due to the large background present in the sample.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Particle Data Group. "2010 Review of Particle Physics – Naming scheme for hadrons" (PDF). Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  2. ^ A. Quadt (2006). "Top quark physics at hadron colliders". European Physical Journal C. 48 (3): 835–1000. Bibcode:2006EPJC...48..835Q. doi:10.1140/epjc/s2006-02631-6. S2CID 121887478.
  3. ^ V. E. Barnes; et al. (1964). "Observation of a Hyperon with Strangeness Minus Three" (PDF). Physical Review Letters. 12 (8): 204. Bibcode:1964PhRvL..12..204B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.12.204. OSTI 12491965.
  4. ^ R. Nave. "The Omega baryon". HyperPhysics. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  5. ^ Körner, J.G; Krämer, M; Pirjol, D (1 January 1994). "Heavy baryons". Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. 33: 787–868. arXiv:hep-ph/9406359. Bibcode:1994PrPNP..33..787K. doi:10.1016/0146-6410(94)90053-1. S2CID 118931787.
  6. ^ Particle Data Group. "2006 Review of Particle Physics –
    Ω
    "
    (PDF). Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  7. ^ Particle Data Group. "
    Ω0
    c
    listing –
    Ω0
    c
    "
    (PDF). Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  8. ^ a b T. Aaltonen et al. (CDF Collaboration) (2009). "Observation of the
    Ω
    b
    and Measurement of the Properties of the
    Ξ
    b
    and
    Ω
    b
    ". Physical Review D. 80 (7): 072003. arXiv:0905.3123. Bibcode:2009PhRvD..80g2003A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.80.072003. hdl:1721.1/52706. S2CID 54189461.
  9. ^ "Fermilab physicists discover "doubly strange" particle". Fermilab. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  10. ^ V. Abazov et al. (DØ Collaboration) (2008). "Observation of the doubly strange b baryon
    Ω
    b
    ". Physical Review Letters. 101 (23): 232002. arXiv:0808.4142. Bibcode:2008PhRvL.101w2002A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.232002. PMID 19113541. S2CID 30481085.
  11. ^ R. Aaij et al. (LHCb collaboration) (2013). "Measurement of the
    Λ0
    b
    ,
    Ξ
    b
    and
    Ω
    b
    baryon masses". Physical Review Letters. 110 (18): 182001. arXiv:1302.1072. Bibcode:2013PhRvL.110r2001A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.182001. PMID 23683191. S2CID 22966047.
  12. ^ "LHCb observes an exceptionally large group of particles". CERN.
  13. ^ R. Aaij et al. (LHCb collaboration) (2017). "Observation of five new narrow
    Ω0
    c
    states decaying to
    Ξ+
    c

    K
    ". Physical Review Letters. 11801 (2017): 182001. arXiv:1703.04639. Bibcode:2017PhRvL.118r2001A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.182001. PMID 28524669. S2CID 610517.
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