- The paper presents BESIII’s strategy to leverage accelerator and detector upgrades for high-precision studies in tau-charm physics, hadron spectroscopy, and exotic decays.
- The proposed program will use enhanced data collection, including up to 20 fb⁻¹ at various energy points, to explore charmonium states and QCD dynamics.
- Detailed plans involve measuring inclusive cross sections and form factors to rigorously test QCD predictions and seek potential new physics beyond the Standard Model.
Overview of the Future Physics Program at BESIII
This paper, published in Chinese Physics C, outlines the future physics program at the Beijing Spectrometer III (BESIII) experiment, which is situated at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider II (BEPCII). The paper details the current status and future directions for research at BESIII, focusing on several prominent areas in particle physics, including tau-charm physics, hadron spectroscopy, and the search for exotic hadrons.
BESIII operates in an energy regime optimal for the study of charmonium states both below and above the open charm threshold, allowing for both high statistics data collection and unique insights into the non-perturbative regime of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). The upgrade to the BEPCII accelerator and the BESIII detector are crucial to enhance data collection efficiency and extend the range of accessible energy levels.
Characterization of the Physics Program
The future physics program is categorized into several sections: light hadron physics, charmonium physics, R values and QCD studies, and exotic decays and new physics. A primary focus is placed on further exploration of phenomena of interest in tau-charm physics and hadron physics that can be extensively investigated at BESIII during the remaining operational times of BEPCII.
Light Hadron Physics
The exploration of light hadrons aims to deepen the understanding of confinement in QCD by investigating hadron spectroscopy including glueballs, hybrids, and exotic multiquark states. The availability of high-statistics data at BESIII facilitates detailed studies on the meson and baryon spectroscopy, offering insights into gluonic excitations and the quest for unambiguous identification of QCD exotics.
Charmonium Physics
BESIII's charmonium program is designed to study charmonium states below the open charm threshold along with the investigation of the XY Z particles above the threshold. These particles are of interest due to their potential to elucidate the complex dynamics within QCD, as some cannot be easily understood within traditional quark models, thus signaling possible new physics.
The charmonium states at energies accessible to BESIII provide an opportunity for accurate tests of QCD and nonrelativistic QCD frameworks. Additionally, the paper notes the significance of expanding data samples for XYZ states to understand their nature and explore potential experimental or theoretical breakthroughs.
Exotic Decays and New Physics
The physics surrounding exotic decays addresses rare decays and searches for potential indications of new physical phenomena beyond the SM. The paper discusses plans to investigate decays that may indicate lepton flavor violation, offering prospects for breakthroughs in understanding CP asymmetries and probing beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics scenarios.
R Values and QCD
The R-QCD program at BESIII focuses on measuring the inclusive cross section of electron-positron annihilations and investigating the strong interaction at energy levels where perturbative methods overlap with non-perturbative QCD techniques. The precision measurement of exclusive channels and form factors in baryon electromagnetic interactions are crucial. The intended improvements to the precision values, to test theoretical predictions, are expected to derive from an increased sample size and improved detector capabilities.
Upgrades and Future Prospects
To fully realizing this physics program, one key proposal involves the acquisition of up to 20 fb⁻¹ of data at different energy points depending on the physics case from light hadron spectroscopy to exotic charm states. The improvements in the accelerator and detector capabilities will facilitate the exploration of the so-called "charmonium puzzle" as higher statistics will lead to more robust data leading to potential discoveries in the energy region of 4.5-4.6 GeV.
In conclusion, this well-outlined future physics program of BESIII aims to probe the deeper layers of QCD, challenge the fermion structure of the SM, and explore unchartered territory in exotic states, requiring advances in both theoretical studies and empirical observations. The new data, enabled by the upgrades to BEPCII/BESIII, promises transformative insights, enhancing BESIII’s standing in global high-energy physics research. Future research at BESIII will be pivotal in unraveling the complexities of QCD and refining the methodologies that lead to new physics horizons.