Antikaon production and medium effects in proton-nucleus reactions at subthreshold beam energies

Inclusive K ^?-meson production in proton-nucleus collisions in the subthreshold-energy regime is analyzed within an appropriate folding model for incoherent primary proton-nucleon and secondary pion-nucleon production processes, which takes properly into account the struck-target-nucleon momentum and removal-energy distribution (nucleon spectral function), novel elementary cross sections for proton-nucleon reaction channels close to threshold, as well as nuclear mean-field potential effects on the one-step and two-step antikaon-creation processes. A detailed comparison of the model calculations of the K ^? differential cross sections for the reactions p+⁹Be and p+⁶³Cu at subthreshold energies with the first experimental data obtained at the ITEP proton synchrotron is given. It displays both the relative role of the primary and secondary production channels at incident energies considered and the contributions to K ^? production that come from the use of the single-particle part and high-momentum-energy part of the nucleon spectral function. It is found that the pion-nucleon production channel does not dominate in the subthreshold “hard” antikaon production in p ⁹Be and p ⁶³Cu collisions and that the main contributions to the antikaon yields here come from the direct K ^?-production mechanism. The influence of the nucleon, kaon, and antikaon mean-field potentials on the K ^? yield is explored. It is shown that the effect of the nucleon mean field is of importance in explaining the considered experimental data on “hard” antikaon production, whereas the K ⁺ andK ^? optical potentials play a minor role. The sensitivity of subthreshold “soft” antikaon production in p ⁹Be reactions to the nucleon, kaon, and antikaon mean fields is studied. It is demonstrated that, contrary to the case of “hard” antikaon production, the K ^? potential has a very strong effect on the K ^? yield, which is comparable with that from the nucleon effective potential.     

A study of single pion production in nucleon-nucleon collisions

A pion exchange model for NN pion production from threshold up to about 6 GeV/c is constructed. In contrast to other models of this type the full information from πN scattering is fed in whereby the πN partial waves on- and off-shell are identified with each other. Detailed comparison with the data for both the channels isospin one and zero, reveals that the shapes of angle and momentum distributions are, in general, well reproduced but the overall magnitude comes out too small for p_L ? 1.5 GeV/c. It is argued that this defect may be due to dibaryon resonances. For reaction cross sections their effects are quantitatively estimated.     

Induced nuclear fission accompanied by pion emission

Basic features of the nuclear-fission process induced by protons of incident energy in the range 150<E _p<600 MeV and accompanied by pion emission are predicted on the basis of the cascade-evaporation-fission model. Specific calculations are performed for the total cross section; and the angular and double-differential distributions of pions; excitation-energy,mass number, and charge-number distributions of compound nuclei; and the mass-energy distributions of fission fragments. Various lines of possible experimental investigations into this fission channel are discussed, including searches for the pionic channel of nuclear decay induced by protons of energy close to the meson-production threshold, advancements to the energy region E _p<100 MeV in order to study of new mechanisms of pion production in nuclear fission, and an extension of investigations to the case of nuclear fission accompanied by kaon emission.     

Photoabsorption on nuclei

We calculate the total photoabsorption cross section on nuclei in the energy range from 300 MeV to 1 GeV within the framework of a semi-classical phase space model. Besides medium modifications like Fermi motion and Pauli blocking we focus on the collision broadening of the involved resonances. The resonance contributions to the elementary cross section are fixed by fits to partial wave amplitudes of pion photoproduction. The cross sections for NR → NN, needed for the calculation of collision broadening, are obtained by detailed balance from a fit to NN → NNπ cross sections. We show that a reasonable collision broadening is not able to explain the experimentally observed disappearance of the D₁₃(1520)-resonance in the photoabsorption cross section on nuclei.     

Near threshold production of neutral pions by complex particles

Cross sections for the inclusive neutral pion production cross section have been measured for near threshold energy ³He particles on complex nuclei. The results of these measurements are of order 10^?36 cm²/sr · MeV. The neutral pion cross section for 710 MeV ⁴He on ¹²C has been found to be comparable to the production cross section for nucleons, 10^?30 cm²/sr · MeV. Comparisons are made with a naive model relating complex particle production to nucleon production of pions.     

Measurement of inclusive pion double charge exchange on 16O at T 0 ≥ 0.5 GeV with the SKS spectrometer at KEK

The inclusive cross section for pion double charge exchange on ¹⁶O at T ₀ = 0.5 and 0.75 GeV was measured with the superconducting kaon spectrometer (SKS) at KEK in a joint ITEP/KEK experiment. The result shows a relatively weak energy dependence of the measured cross section, which is in contradiction with its rapid drop predicted within the conventional model of two sequential single charge exchanges. The data of this experiment agree with the results that were obtained previously from similar measurements at ITEP and which are indicative of a significant contribution from the mechanism of inelastic Glauber rescatterings for T ₀ ? 0.6 GeV.     

A relativistic description of πd scattering: Effects of small πN waves,NN rescattering, ρ-exchange and π absorption and emission

Using a relativistic three-body theory we calculated elastic differential cross sections, polarisations and total cross sections for pion-deuteron scattering in the (3, 3) resonance region. Effects of pion absorption and emission have been calculated rigorously, including pion rescattering effects and ρ-meson exchange to all orders. Inclusion of pion absorption and emission produces appreciable changes in the large angle differential cross section and in all polarisation parameters. The inclusion of non-resonant πN partial waves leads to significantly improved agreement with experiment for T_π = 142 MeV and at forward angles for 256 MeV. None of these effects, nor the inclusion of selected NN partial waves other than ³S₁-³D₁, produces the deep minimum observed at 256 MeV.     

Kaon production at subthreshold energies

We present a comprehensive investigation of subthreshold and threshold kaon production in the framework of the QMD model. The calculation shows that the kaon yield depends strongly on the nuclear equation of state (EOS) and subthreshold kaon experiments may therefore offer the up to now best possibility to determine this yet unknown property of nuclear matter. Whereas static equations of state are in quite good agreement with the data the more realistic momentum dependent EOS's underpredict the data by about a factor of three. Most kaons are produced in a two step process with an intermediate Δ, a process which is absent in NN collisions. Therefore the kaon yield is much higher than expected from the extrapolation of pp data. We discuss in detail the influence of the elementary kaon production cross section, the contribution of different production channels and the properties of the nuclear environment at the place where the kaon is produced. The decrease of the number of produced kaons per participant with decreasing participant number, which is also observed experimentally, has two sources: The nonmaxwellian momentum distribution for small participant numbers as well as a reduction of the ΔΔ channel. This finding is supported by the observed decrease of high momentum pions. We compare our results with other calculations and discuss in detail the theoretical and experimental uncertainties. They include the yet only vaguely known elementary kaon production cross section at the threshold, the lack of a quantum-mechanical treatment of the two step production process as well as the behaviour of the kaon (and therefore also of the kaon production threshold) in the nuclear environment.     

Final state interaction in pion electroproduction from nuclei near threshold

We have calculated cross sections for pion electroproduction from nuclei near threshold, including the distortion of the pion wave function by the pion-nucleus optical potential. Distortion effects near threshold are found to be significant, changing the ratio σ_π-/σ_π+ for production of 10 MeV pions from ¹⁶O by nearly fifty percent.     

Near-Threshold Photo- and Electroproduction of Neutral Pions on Protons

The state of the art of the problem on threshold neutral-pion production on protons by photons and electrons is examined. New experimental data on the threshold of pion production are analyzed within the phenomenological model based on the gauge invariance, the hypothesis of partial conservation of the axial-vector current, and allowance for obvious chiral-symmetry breaking. The amplitudes of the p-wave threshold multipoles and the photon asymmetry are derived for the pion photoproduction on protons with a photon energy of 159.5 MeV. The differential cross sections are calculated as functions of the pion emission angle and amplitudes of the s- and p-wave multipoles for the threshold pion electroproduction on protons at the squared momentum transfer k ² = 0.05 GeV²/c². The total reaction cross sections are also obtained as functions of k ². The results obtained are compared with new experimental data and available theoretical predictions.     

中能重离子碰撞中K介子产生动力学研究(英文)

基于兰州量子分子动力学(LQMD)模型研究了阈能附近K介子(K0和K+)产生动力学机制。LQMD模型能够较好地描述中能重离子碰撞中K介子产额分布。通过拟合K介子动能谱分布,计算中采用了排斥的K-核子相互作用势。该光学势增强了高动量K介子产生,而降低了K介子总产额。结合实验数据比较,在高密区域给出了较软的对称核物质状态方程。对称能的软硬对K0/K+比值起着重要作用,特别是在阈下区域。而K介子光学势对K0/K+比值激发函数影响不明显。     

Subthreshold <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript>−</Superscript>-meson production in proton-nucleus reactions revisited

The inclusive K^?-meson production in proton-nucleus collisions in the subthreshold energy regime is studied in the framework of an appropriate spectral function approach for incoherent primary proton-nucleon and secondary pion-nucleon production processes, which takes properly into account the nuclear mean-field potential effects on these processes as well as the final state interaction (FSI) among the outgoing nucleons participating in the one-step antikaon creation process. A detailed comparison of the model calculations of the K^? differential cross sections is given for the reactions p + ⁹Be, p + ⁶³Cu, and p + ¹⁹⁷Au at subthreshold energies with the currently available experimental data obtained recently at the ITEP proton synchrotron and at SIS/GSI. It is found that the calculations with inclusion of the influence of both the nuclear density-dependent mean-field potentials and the elementary NN-FSI effects on the K^? production from direct mechanism are able to reproduce, contrary to previous estimates based on the use only of the density-dependent mean fields in calculating the K^? yield from this mechanism, the energy dependences of the invariant differential cross sections for “hard” antikaon creation in p⁹Be and p⁶³Cu collisions. It is further shown that the NN-FSI effects play a minor role in describing the data on the spectrum of relatively soft K^? mesons from p¹⁹⁷Au interactions at incident energy of 2.5 GeV. It is also shown that the relative strength of the proton-and pion-induced reaction channels in the subthreshold energy regime is governed by the kinematics of the experiment under consideration. The influence of the nucleon, kaon, and antikaon mean-field potentials on the K^? yield is explored. It is demonstrated that, in line with previous findings, the K^? optical potential has a strong effect on this yield at low antikaon momenta, which is greater than those from nucleon and kaon effective potentials. At high antikaon momenta, the K^? yield is found to be mainly determined, along with the elementary NN-FSI effects, by the nucleon mean field and the scenario with zero K⁺ potential is favorable.     

Estimate ofd′- production in protonproton collisions

An estimate of the cross section for the production of a narrow isosinglet 0^?-dibaryon (d′) resonance inpp-collisions is given. This cross section is shown to be in the range of a fewμb at incident energies close to threshold. The resonance parameters used are those obtained from a recent analysis of pionic double charge exchange data which at low pion energies clearly exhibit features in accordance with the existence ofd′.     

Measurement of the pp cross sections in the momentum range 0.9–2.0 GeV/c

The pp total, elastic, and all the inelastic cross sections were measured at 11 momenta in the range 0.9–2.0 GeV/c. No clear structure was observed in their momentum dependences. The momentum dependence of the total cross section agrees quite well with the result of a phase-shift analysis by Arndt. Our measurement of the ppπ⁰ and pnπ⁺ cross sections served to normalize the earlier systematic but relative and extrapolated measurements of these cross sections over a narrower momentum range. Calculations by König and Kroll based on a pion exchange model including the effect of an I = 1 dibaryon did not fit the single-pion production cross sections.     

Antikaon production and medium effects in proton-nucleus reactions at subthreshold beam energies

The inclusive K ^--meson production in proton-nucleus collisions in the subthreshold energy regime is analyzed in the framework of an appropriate folding model for incoherent primary proton-nucleon and secondary pion-nucleon production processes, which takes properly into account the struck target nucleon momentum and removal energy distribution (nucleon spectral function), novel elementary cross-sections for proton-nucleon reaction channel close to threshold as well as nuclear mean-field potential effects on the one-step and two-step antikaon creation processes. A detailed comparison of the model calculations of the K ^- differential cross-sections for the reactions p + ⁹Be and p + ⁶³Cu at subthreshold energies with the first experimental data obtained at the ITEP proton synchrotron is given, that displays both the relative role of the primary and secondary production channels at considered incident energies and the contributions to the K ^- production coming from the use of the single-particle part as well as high-momentum-energy part of the nucleon spectral function. It is found that the pion-nucleon production channel does not dominate in the subthreshold “hard” antikaon production in p ⁹Be-, p ⁶³Cu-collisions and the main contributions to the antikaon yields here come from the direct K ^- production mechanism. The influence of the nucleon, kaon and antikaon mean-field potentials on the K ^- yield is explored. It is shown that the effect of the nucleon mean-field is of importance in explaining the considered experimental data on “hard” antikaon production, whereas the K ⁺ and K ^- optical potentials play a minor role. The sensitivity of the subthreshold “soft” antikaon production in p ⁹Be-, p ¹²C-reactions to the nucleon, kaon and antikaon mean fields is studied. It is demonstrated that, contrary to the case of “hard” antikaon production, the K ^- potential has a very strong effect on the K ^- yield, which is greater than that from nucleon effective potential. Received: 20 July 2000 / Accepted: 4 December 2000     

Measurement of pion-nucleus total cross sections as a test for the existence of a pion condensate

We suggest an experimental verification of the existence of a pion condensate in finite nuclei by measuring pion-nucleus total cross sections in the vicinity of T_π ≈ 1.2 GeV. Scattering of the pion beam from the condensate pions leads to a measurable modification both in the energy dependence and magnitude of the pion-nucleus total cross section if the condensate is present with a sufficient strength.     

ChPT Calculation for Two Pion Production in NN Collision Reaction at Threshold

We investigate the two pion production in NN collision reaction at threshold with Chiral Perturbation Theory (ChPT). The leading-order diagrams are presented and as an example we give the results of complete calculation of the reaction pn → d ππ at threshold. It is found that the leading order diagrams are of equal importance as expected by power counting. The role of initial, intermediate and final state interactions in nucleon-nucleon system is also investigated and found to be very important. The calculations also show that the non-resonant contributions near threshold in the two-pion production in NN collision reaction is sizable and important.     

A non-relativistic operator convenient for analysis of pion photoproduction on nuclei in the Δ(1236) region

In view of its application to the analysis of medium energy photonuclear reactions we have obtained an operator valid, to order $\text{(}\text{p}\text{m}\text{)}{}^2$, in any frame of reference. We have started from a model where the pion photoproduction on a nucleon is described by the Born terms and the s-channel Δ(1236) formation amplitude and we have deduced the non-relativistic limit of the corresponding matrix elements. Both pseudo-scalar and pseudo-vector pion-nucleon couplings are compared. The Δ(1236) parameters are chosen so as to lead to a good account of pion-nucleon reaction cross sections. The agreement with the charged photoproduction data is very good from threshold through the Δ(1236) energy region, whereas the addition of ω⁰ exchange in the t-channel is necessary to reproduce the neutral pion photoproduction cross sections. As an example this operator is used to derive the cross section of the γD → ppπ^? reaction in the spectator nucleon model when the undiscernability of the two outgoing protons is taken into account.     

The inclusive proton spectrum for\bar pd \to 3\pi p at rest re-examined

We re-analyze the spectator proton distribution for ¯pd→π ⁺ π^? π^? p. For this channel previous calculations underestimated the cross section for proton momenta of 300 to 600 MeV/c by about a factor 7 while the channels with higher pion multiplicities and the ¯pd→K¯ Kmπp reactions were well explained. By using detailed experimental information on ¯pn and ¯pp annihilation, meson rescattering can in fact explain the cross section also for the 3π case. The¯ pp annihilation followed by charge exchange pion rescattering is much larger than in the 5π case. Vector meson exchange is small but not negligible at high spectator momenta.     

Near-threshold pion production by protons on nuclei

The p + p → d + π⁺ process is considered in detail along with the p + N → N + N + π process. Such consideration makes it possible to show the difference in the production cross sections for π⁺ and π^? mesons on nuclei. In this case, experimental data can be reproduced both above the pion production threshold at a proton energy of 350 MeV and under the threshold at a proton energy of 180 MeV.