Momentum dependence of the phi-meson nuclear transparency

Abstract

The production of phi mesons in proton collisions with C, Cu, Ag, and Au targets has been studied via the phi -> K+K- decay at an incident beam energy of 2.83 GeV using the ANKE detector system at COSY. For the first time, the momentum dependence of the nuclear transparency ratio, the in-medium phi width, and the differential cross section for phi meson production at forward angles have been determined for these targets over the momentum range of 0.6 - 1.6 GeV/c. There are indications of a significant momentum dependence in the value of the extracted phi width, which corresponds to an effective phi-N absorption cross section in the range of 14 - 21 mb.