Feasibility studies for Ξ baryon spectroscopy in antiproton-proton reactions with the PANDA detector

For a deep insight into the mechanisms of non-perturbative QCD it is essential to understand the excitation pattern of baryons.Up to now only the nucleon excitation spectrum has been subject to systematic experimental studies while very little is known on excited states of double or triple strange baryons. In studies of antiproton-proton collisions the PANDA experiment is well-suited for a comprehensive baryon spectroscopy program in the multi-strange sector. A large fraction of the inelastic anti pp cross section is associated to final states with a baryon-antibaryon pair together with additional mesons, giving access to excited states both in the baryon and the antibaryon channel. In this study we focus on the Λ K decay of excited Ξ states. For final states containing a Ξ anti Ξ pair cross sections up to the order of μb are expected, corresponding to production rates of ∝ 10⁶/d at a Luminosity L = 10³¹ cm^-2 s^-1 (5% of the design value). The strategy to study the excitation spectrum of Ξ baryons in antiproton-proton collisions is discussed. The reconstruction of reactions of the type anti pp → Ξ* anti Ξ⁺ with Ξ* → ΛK^- (and their charge conjugate) with the PANDA detector is presented.