Study of matter current effects in two-body inelastic collisions

Abstract

At the present time no comprehensive model of high energy hadronic scattering exists. Most of the existing models have a very restricted range of application. The geometrical model of hadronic scattering proposed by Chou and Yang has had great success in predicting high energy scattering phenomena. For example, the dip in pp elastic scattering, and pion and kaon radii were quite accurately predicted by the model. Use of pp differential cross section data also yields an excellent fit of the measured proton form factor in this model. The possible existence of hadronic matter current inside a polarized hadron and an experimental test of this idea were discussed by Chou and Yang in 1973. Subsequently the geometrical model was generalized to include the matter current effect by the same authors in 1976. The proposed experimental test of the matter current idea consists of determining the spin-rotation parameter, R, in polarized elastic meson-proton scatterings. The measurement of R usually requires a second scattering of the recoil proton off a known analyzer such as /sup 12/C. The purpose of this work is to offer another method by which the hadronic matter current effect can be detected. Instead of elastic scattering the two-body inelastic scattering process ..pi../sup -/ p ..-->.. K/sup 0/..lambda.. in which the final state hyperon is unstable against weak decay is considered. By observing the angular distribution of the decay products the rotation parameter, R, may be inferred.