NUCLEAR CAPTURE IN THE ATOMIC CASCADE OF KAONIC, ANTIPROTONIC AND SIGMA-HYPERONIC EXOTIC ATOMS

Ratios of nuclear capture rates are shown to increase with increasing principal quantum number n for a given orbital quantum number l, in the high-n, high-l states most relevant to studies of the exotic hadronic atoms of heavy particles. This surprising behaviour, which is confirmed by optical-model calculations, is in contrast to similar capture ratios in pionic atoms at low atomic number. Plots of the relevant hydrogenic atom wave functions are shown to explain such effects.