K +-meson production in pBe interactions at T p=2.9 GeV

The production of K ⁺ and π ⁺ mesons and protons in pBe collisions at T _p=2.9 GeV has been studied at the ITEP proton synchrotron. Ejectiles with a momentum of p=545 MeV/c were observed under an emission angle ϑ=17°. The detectors which have been developed for the identification of kaons out of a six orders of magnitude more intense background of pions and protons are described. A cross-section ratio d²σ _K ⁺/d Ωd p: d² σ _p /d Ωd p: d²σ _p /d Ωd p of (1±0.34):(85±1):(31±1) has been measured. Normalization with existing pion data yields an invariant differential cross section E·d³σ _K ⁺/d³ p=(3.1±1.2) mbGeV^-2c³sr^-1 and a total cross section of σ_tot( pBe)=(3.7±1.5) mb. These cross sections are compared with existing data and theoretical predictions. The A dependence of K ⁺ production in the few-GeV range is analyzed.