Naive parton picture for kaon color transparency in $A(e,e'K^+)$

Abstract

Nuclear transparency in the electronuclear reaction $A(e,e'K^+)$ is investigated in parallel with our previous study of pion transparency in Phys.\ Rev.\ C {\bf 111}, 064608 (2025). Based on an extended Glauber framework that incorporates shadowing from the initial-state two-step process, kaon color transparency (CT) is analyzed to show that the steeper $Q^2$ dependence observed for kaon CT, compared with the pion case, is more naturally described by the naive parton model (NPM) than by the quantum diffusion model (QDM). The inclusion of initial-state shadowing further reduces the transparency and improves the agreement with the experimental data. The $Q^2$ and $A$ dependences of the kaon transparency are presented up to $Q^2=10$~GeV$^2/c^2$, together with the corresponding $\alpha(Q^2)$ and the supplementary ratio $T_A/T_C$, for comparison with the Jefferson Lab (JLab) data obtained with the 6-GeV electron beam on $^{12}$C, $^{63}$Cu, and $^{197}$Au nuclei.