Asymmetry in the nonmesonic weak decay of polarized (5)(Lambda)He hypernuclei

Phys Rev Lett. 2000 May 1;84(18):4052-5. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.4052.

Abstract

We have measured the asymmetric emission of protons from the nonmesonic decay of polarized (5)(Lambda)He produced by the (pi(+), K+) reaction. (5)(Lambda)He is an s-shell hypernucleus and its polarization is due to the Lambda. One expects to obtain direct information on the elementary weak Lambda-->p-->np process. The asymmetry parameter has been determined to be 0.24+/-0.22. The implication of the result is discussed.