The interaction of fast K-mesons

Abstract

Two events are described in which heavy mesons interact with nuclei in photographic emulsions, producing small stars and emerging themselves from the collisions. In one example, a relativistic singly charged particle enters the stack and produces a star with only three emergent charged particles, which have been identified as a hyperon, a π-meson and a K-meson respectively. The K-meson creates two stars before it comes to rest and decays with the emission of a slow μ-meson. In the other example, a K-meson enters the stack from outside and, after interacting, comes to rest within the emulsion and decays with the emission of a single lightly ionizing particle. Certain features of interest associated with the scattering properties of heavy mesons are discussed.