Exclusive open strangeness production in the $pp \to pp K^{+} K^{-}$ reaction at high energies and a measurement of scalar $\chi_{c0}$ meson

Abstract

We discuss the results of exclusive $p p \to p p K^{+} K^{-}$ reaction at high energies which constitutes an irreducible background to three-body processes $p p \to p p M$, where $M=\phi$, $f_{2}(1275)$, $f_{0}(1500)$, $f_{2}'(1525)$, $\chi_{c0}$. We consider central diffractive contribution mediated by Pomeron and Reggeon exchanges including absorption effects due to proton-proton interaction and kaon-kaon rescattering. We make predictions for future experiments at RHIC, Tevatron and LHC. Differential distributions in invariant two-kaon mass, kaon rapidities and transverse momenta of kaons are presented. We discuss a measurement of exclusive production of scalar $\chi_{c0}$ meson in the proton-(anti)proton collisions via $\chi_{c0} \to K^{+}K^{-}$ decay. The corresponding amplitude for exclusive central diffractive $\chi_{c0}$ meson production is calculated within the $k_{t}$-factorization approach.