On the determination of the parity of the $\Theta^+$

Abstract

We critically examine the possibility of determining the parity of the $\Theta^+(1540)$ from the reactions $NN\to \Theta^+Y$ ($Y$ = $\Lambda$, $\Sigma$) recently discussed in the literature. Specifically, we study the energy dependence of those observables that were suggested to be the most promising ones to unravel the parity of the $\Theta^+$, namely the spin correlation coefficient $A_{xx}$, and the spin transfer coefficient $D_{xx}$. We show that the energy dependence of $\sigma_0(1+A_{xx})$, corresponding to the spin-triplet production cross section, guarantees unambiguous information on the parity of the $\Theta^+$. Here, $\sigma_0$ denotes the unpolarized cross section. Also, the possibility to determine the parity of the $\Theta^+$ through the energy dependence of $\sigma_0D_{xx}$ is discussed.