PHOTOPRODUCTION OF K+LAMBDA AND K+SIGMA0 FROM HYDROGEN FROM 5-GEV TO 16-GEV

Cross sections for the reactions pK+ and pK+0 have been measured at squared four-momentum transfer (-t) from 0.005 to 2 GeV2, at photon energies 5, 8, 11, and 16 GeV. For -t>0.2 GeV2 each of the K+ cross sections is about of the +n photoproduction cross section, having nearly the same energy and momentum-transfer dependence. The K+ cross sections fall off at small |t|, however, in contrast to the sharp forward spike seen in +n; this leads to a disagreement with an SU(3) prediction for -t<0.1 GeV2. The ratio of K+0 to K+ cross sections is typically between 0.5 and 1.0. © 1969 The American Physical Society.