Inclusive neutral strange particle production in νp interactions

Abstract

In a selected sample of 6770 charged current (CC) events of νp interactions with 〈 E ν 〉 = 43 GeV and 〈W〉 = 4.6 GeV, 359 K 0, 180 Λ and 13 Λ have been observed, which corresponds to a corrected production rate at least one neutral strange particle in (17.4±0.8)% of the CC events. The ratio of the inclusive Λ to K 0 production cross section is found to be 0.26±0.03. The number of CC events containing at least one K 0 increases with increasing E ν and Q 2, while the CC events containing at least one Λ remain practically constant. The fractions of the total hadronic energy carried by K 0 and Λ are found to be approximately the same in νp as in ep and μp interactions. In the hadronic c.m.s., the K 0 are produced mostly forwards, the Λ mostly backwards, with asymmetry parameters of +0.32±0.02 and −0.45±0.06, respectively. The total strange particle production cross section is estimated to be (25±4)% of the cross section for production of CC events with W>1.5 GeV and that for charm production (10±2)% of the CC cross section well above charm threshold ( W>3 GeV). The production of the resonances K ∗+ (890) and Σ + (1385) has been observed. The production rate of K ∗+ (890) is comparable to that of D ∗+ (2009), above the corresponding thresholds.