Kaonic copper and fluorine absolute yields measurement with a CZT-based detection system at DAΦNE

In this work, new measurements of absolute x-ray yields for several transitions in kaonic copper and, for the first time, in kaonic fluorine are reported. The data were collected by the SIDDHARTA-2 collaboration at the DA Phi NE collider using a novel room-temperature cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detection system. Detection efficiencies were evaluated through a dedicated Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation of the full experimental setup, enabling the extraction of absolute yields per stopped kaon. The measured yields exhibit a systematic dependence on the principal quantum number, reflecting the interplay between radiative transitions, Auger de-excitation, and strong-interaction-induced nuclear capture. In kaonic fluorine, a suppression of the 4 -> 3 transition yield relative to higher-n transitions is observed, providing evidence for the onset of strong-interaction effects already at the n=4 level. From this behaviour, a conservative lower limit on the corresponding strong-interaction width is derived. These results provide new quantitative constraints for cascade models of exotic atoms and extend experimental access to intermediate atomic levels where strong-interaction effects are not directly observable via level shifts and widths. They also establish CZT-based detection as a powerful and versatile approach for high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy of kaonic atoms in collider environments.