2026/08/02 by Tomona Kinugawa, Àngels Ramos, Laura Tolos
Physics and Astronomy · #hep-ph #nucl-th
16 pages, 10 figures
arxiv created 2026/08/02 · arxiv updated 2026/08/04
We investigate the properties of the Ds0^∗(2317)^± in hot and dense nuclear matter using a coupled-channel molecular model built on next-to-leading-order heavy meson chiral perturbation theory. In-medium modifications to the Ds0^∗(2317)+ stem from changes to the DK channel within the coupled DK-Ds η system. As nuclear density increases, the Ds0^∗(2317)+ quasiparticle peak shifts toward lower energies and broadens, tracking the behavior of the D-meson spectral function. As for temperature effects, those are milder, with the thermal smearing of the Fermi surface and the melting of Σc N-1 excitations in the D-meson spectral function shifting the Ds0^∗(2317)+ peak back toward its free-space mass while narrowing it. Conversely, the behavior of the Ds0^∗(2317)- is governed by the D K channel and its medium behavior is driven by the K spectral function. With increasing temperature, the Ds0^∗(2317)- also approaches its free-space mass, but its width broadens before saturating at high temperatures. Incorporating explicit medium dependencies into the interaction kernel, driven by density and/or temperature variations in the pion decay constant, further shifts the Ds0^∗(2317)+ mass lower and narrows its width with temperature. As for Ds0^∗(2317)-, its mass also drops with temperature but its width increases. These contrasting medium behaviors offer a promising pathway to constrain the internal structure of these exotic states.