PHOTOPRODUCTION OF THE NEUTRAL KAON IN THE THRESHOLD REGION AT LNS
Abstract
The K0 photoproduction process is investigated in the threshold region, Eγ = 0.8-1.1 GeV at LNS-Tohoku. K0 events are measured via π+π- decay channel. Obtained momentum spectra for the deuteron target are compared with those calculated in the spectator model using a realistic deuteron wave function. Recent isobar models and a simple phenomenological model are used as elementary amplitudes to investigate the effect of the new data on the angular behavior of the elementary cross section. The data favor a backward-peaked angular distribution of the elementary n(γ, K0)Λ process in the center-of-mass (c.m.) system, which provides additional constraints on current models of kaon photoproduction. The present study shows that the n(γ, K0)Λ reaction can provide key information on the mechanism of the photoproduction of strangeness.
