Production of a cascade hyperon in the K^- - proton interaction

Abstract

We investigate the production of a cascade hyperon (Xi) through the K^- + p --> K^+ (K^0) + Xi^- (Xi^0) reactions, within an effective Lagrangian model where these reactions proceed via excitations of Lambda and Sigma resonance intermediate states in s- and u-channels. The coupling constants at the various vertices are taken from previous studies and SU(3) symmetry considerations. The calculated total cross sections of these reactions, which are in good agreement with the available data, are dominated by the contributions from the Lambda(1520) intermediate resonant state. However, the K^+ meson angular distributions show selectivity to other resonant states in different angular regions and interference among these states leads to their strong backward peaking.