Subthreshold and near threshold K+ meson photoproduction\newline on nuclei

Abstract

The inclusive K+ meson production in photon–induced reactions in the near threshold and subthreshold energy regimes is analyzed with respect to the one–step (γN→K + Y, Y=Λ,Σ) incoherent production processes on the basis of an appropriate new folding model, which takes properly into account the struck target nucleon removal energy and internal momentum distribution (nucleon spectral function), extracted from recent quasielastic electron scattering experiments and from many–body calculations with realistic models of the NN interaction. Simple parametrizations for the total and differential cross sections of the K+ production in photon–nucleon collisions are presented. Comparison of the model calculations of the K+ differential cross sections for the reaction γ+C12 in the threshold region with the existing experimental data is given, that displays the contributions to the K+ production at considered incident energies coming from the use of the single–particle part as well as high momentum and high removal energy part of the nucleon spectral function. Detailed predictions for the K+ total and differential cross sections from γH2, γC12 and γPb208 reactions at subthreshold and near threshold energies are provided. The influence of the uncertainties in the elementary K+ production cross sections on the K+ yield is explored.