Production and decay of eta-mesic nuclei

Abstract

Using the Green function method, binding effects on produced eta-mesons in the two-stage reaction \gamma + A \to N + \eta + (A-1) \to N + (\pi N) + (A-2) are studied. The energy spectrum of the correlated pi-N pairs which arise from decays of etas inside the nucleus is strongly affected by an attractive eta-nucleus optical potential. Its resonant behavior gives a clear signal of formating intermediate eta-mesic nuclei.