Production of $\Sigma^{0}$ Hyperon and Search of $\Sigma^{0}$ Hypernuclei at LHC with ALICE

The first measurements of the transverse momentum ($p_{{{T}}}$) spectra and integrated yields and mean $p_{{T}}$ of $\Sigma^{0}$ and $\overline{\Sigma}^{0}$ hyperons in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV at the LHC are presented. The $\Sigma^{0}$($\overline{\Sigma}^{0}$) is reconstructed via its electromagnetic decay channel $\Lambda$($\overline{\Lambda})+\gamma$. The $\Lambda$ ($\overline{\Lambda}$) baryon is reconstructed via its decay into $p+\pi^{-}$ ($\overline{{{p}}}+\pi^{+}$), while the photon is detected by exploiting the unique capability of the ALICE detector to measure low-energy photons via conversion into $e^{+}e^{-}$ pairs in the detector material. The yield of $\Sigma^{0}$ is compared to that of the $\Lambda$ baryon, which has the same quark content but different isospin. These data contribute to the understanding of hadron production mechanisms and provide a reference for constraining QCD-inspired models and tuning Monte Carlo event generators such as PYTHIA. In addition, the feasibility of a search for a bound state of proton, neutron and $\Sigma^{0}$($\Sigma^{0}$ hypernuclei ${}^{3}_{\Sigma^{0}}$H) is presented, based on the luminosities foreseen for the LHC Runs 3 and 4.