Access to the kaon radius with kaonic atoms

Abstract

We put forward a method for determination of the kaon radius from the spectra of kaonic atoms. We analyze the few lowest transitions and their sensitivity to the size of the kaon for ions in the nuclear charge range Z = 1 - 100, taking into account finite-nuclear-size, finite-kaon-size, recoil and leading-order quantum-electrodynamic effects. Additionally, the opportunities of extracting the kaon mass and nuclear radii are demonstrated by examining the sensitivity of the transition energies in kaonic atoms.