Protduction of K+ mesons in proton-nucleus interactions

Abstract

The production of K+ mesons in pA (A= C, Cu, Ag, Au) collisions has been investigated at the COoler SYnchrotron COSY-Juelich at beam energies T=1.0 ... 2.3 GeV using the ANKE spectrometer. ANKE allows to measure double differential cross sections for K+ production at forward angles theta< 12 degr. in a wide momentum range. The cross sections obtained in these experiments together with those from literature show a uniform behavior as functions of momentum transfer and excitation energy of the residual nucleus. At the lowest measured beam energy, far below the free NN-threshold (T_NN=1.58 GeV), the data reveal a high degree of collectivity in the target nucleus. The spectra obtained above threshold should allow one to extract the nuclear K+ potential with an accuracy of better than +/-3 MeV. Information about the mechanisms leading to K+ production can be obtained from K+p and K+d coincidence measurements.