Neutral strange particle production and inelastic cross section inp¯+Ta reaction at 4 GeV/c

The inclusive production of $K_s^0$, Λ, Λ¯, and $K_s^0$Λ in the p¯Ta reaction at 4 GeV/c was measured and compared with that in the p¯p reaction. The total inelastic and topological cross sections were also measured. The number of Λ’s produced in the p¯Ta reaction was 11.3 times larger than that expected from the geometrical cross section, which is defined as $A^{2/3}$ times the cross section for the p¯p reaction. The yield ratio Λ¯/Λ was found to be 2×${10}^{\mathrm{-}2}$. These values cannot be accounted for by a straightforward extension of the p¯N reaction. Besides, a correlation of 2 vees like $K_s^0$-Λ could not prove their simultaneous production. Nuclear temperatures of 135 and 97 MeV were obtained from the kinetic energy spectra of $K_s^0$ and Λ, respectively. The kinematical characteristics of the $K_s^0$ and Λ produced were analyzed in terms of the fireball model.