A novel experiment, aiming at demonstrating the feasibility of hypernuclear spectroscopy with heavy-ion beams, was conducted. Using the invariant mass method, the spectroscopy of hypernuclear products of 6 Li projectiles on a carbon target at 2 A GeV was performed. Signals of the Λ-hyperon and 3 Λ H and 4 Λ H hypernuclei were observed for final states of p+π − , 3 He+π − and 4 He+π − , respectively, with significance values of 6.7, 4.7 and 4.9σ. By analyzing the proper decay time from secondary vertex distribution with the unbinned maximum likelihood fitting method, their lifetime values were deduced to be 262 +56 −43 ± 45 ps for Λ, 183 +42 −32 ± 37 ps for 3 Λ H, and 140 +48 −33 ± 35 ps for 4 Λ H.

Hypernuclear production cross sections have been deduced for the first time with induced reaction of heavy ion beam on fixed target and by means of the invariant mass method by the HypHI Collaboration exploiting the reaction of 6 Li + 12 C at 2 A GeV or √ s N N = 2.70 GeV. A production cross section of 3.9 ± 1.4 μb for 3 H and of 3.1 ± 1.0 μb for 4 H respectively in the projectile rapidity region was inferred as well as the total production cross section of the hyperon was measured and found to be equal to 1.7 ± 0.8 mb. A global fit based on a Bayesian approach was performed in order to include and propagate statistical and systematic uncertainties. Production ratios of 3 H/ 4 H, 3 H/ and 4 H/ were included in the inference procedure. The strangeness population factors S 3 and S 4 of 3 H and 4 H respectively were extracted. In addition, the multiplicities of the hyperon, 3 H, and 4 H together with the rapidity and transversal momentum density distributions of the observed hypernuclei were extracted and reported.

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