Eur. Phys. J. A (2004) 22: 301-317
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2004-10036-6

Inclusive K⁺-meson production in proton-nucleus interactions

¹ Institut für Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
² High Energy Physics Department, Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188350, Gatchina, Russia
³ Institute of Physics, Jagellonian University, Reymonta 4, 30059, Cracow, Poland
⁴ Institut für Kernphysik, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Str. 77, 50937, Köln, Germany
⁵ Institut für Kernphysik, Universität Münster, W.-Klemm-Str. 9, 48149, Münster, Germany
⁶ Institut für Hadronen- und Kernphysik, Forschungszentrum Rossendorf, D-01474, Dresden, Germany

Received: 30 January 2004
Accepted: 28 May 2004
Published online: 17 November 2004

Abstract

The production of K⁺-mesons in pA (A = D, C, Cu, Ag, Au) collisions has been investigated at the COoler SYnchrotron COSY-Jülich for beam energies T _p = 1.0-2.3 GeV. Double differential inclusive pC cross-sections at forward angles ϑ_{K^+} < 12^° as well as the target mass dependence of the K⁺ momentum spectra have been measured with the ANKE spectrometer. Far below the free NN threshold at T _NN = 1.58 GeV the spectra reveal a high degree of collectivity in the target nucleus. From the target mass dependence of the cross-sections at higher energies, the repulsive in-medium potential of the K⁺-mesons can be deduced. Using pN cross-section parameterisations from the literature and our measured pD data we derive a cross-section ratio σ(pn↦K ⁺ X)/σ(pp↦K ⁺ X) ∼ (3-4).