ΛKEnhancement at 1.7 GeV Produced inπp→ΛKπInteractions at 6 GeV/c

We have observed a marked $\Lambda K^{+}$ enhancement centered at 1.7 GeV with a width of 0.17 GeV in the interaction ${\pi }^{-}p\to \Lambda K^{+}{\pi }^{-}$ at 6 GeV/c. This effect does not show up strongly in the similar interactions ${\pi }^{\pm }p\to \Lambda K^{+,0\mathrm{}}{\pi }^{+,0\mathrm{}}$. We discuss the production mechanism in terms of $s$ (direct) and $t$ (crossed) channels, and examine the question of whether this enhancement is associated with the ${N_{\frac{1}{2}}}^{*}\mathrm{}\left(1688\right)\mathrm{}$.