Inclusive production of Σ^±(1385) in K^-p interactions at 10 and 16 GeV/c

Abstract

The inclusive production of Σ⁺(1385) and Σ^-(1385) has been studied in K^-p interactions at 10 and 10 and 16 GeV/c. It is found that the cross sections for the reactions K^-p →Σ^± (1385) + anything are approximately constant in the energy range form 10 to 32 GeV/c, being ≈ 350 µb for Σ ⁺ (1385) and ≈ 250 μb for Σ ^- (1385). The dσ dp⊥² distributions for Σ^± (1385) fall off exponentially with increasing p⊥², with sloped of about 3 (GeV/c)^-2. The dσ/dx distributions for Σ⁺(1385) and Σ^-(1385) are markedly different: the production of Σ^-(1385) is symmetrical forwards and backwards in the c.m.s.; for Σ⁺(1385), the distribution is the same as for Σ^-(1385) in the forward direction, but presents a large excess of events in the backward direction. This indicates that for the production of both Σ⁺(1385) and Σ^-(1385) the fragmentation of the incoming kaon is negligible. The fragmentation of the target proton is negligible for Σ^-(1385), but it is important for Σ⁺(1385) and is responsible for the excess (˜100μb) of its cross section over that for Σ^-(1385).