Measurement of the in-medium K0 inclusive cross section in pi- -induced reactions at 1.15 GeV/c

TL;DR

This study measures the production cross section of K0 mesons in pi- induced reactions on various nuclei at 1.15 GeV/c, providing new data to test theoretical models of in-medium kaon production and nuclear potentials.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive measurement of K0 production cross sections across multiple nuclei at this energy, informing models of strangeness production in nuclear matter.

Findings

Kaon production is sensitive to reaction amplitudes inside nuclei.

Evidence suggests a repulsive KN-potential of 20±5 MeV at normal nuclear density.

Data serve as a new reference for theoretical models of in-medium kaon production.

Abstract

The K0 meson production by pi- mesons of 1.15 GeV/c momentum on C, Al, Cu, Sn and Pb nuclear targets was measured with the FOPI spectrometer at the SIS accelerator of GSI. Inclusive production cross-sections and the momentum distributions of K0 mesons are compared to scaled elementary production cross-sections and to predictions of theoretical models describing the in-medium production of kaons. The data represent a new reference for those models, which are widely used for interpretation of the strangeness-production in heavy-ion collisions. The presented results demonstrate the sensitivity of the kaon production to the reaction amplitudes inside nuclei and point to the existence of a repulsive KN-potential of 20+-5 MeV at normal nuclear matter density.