Coherent Theta^+ and Lambda(1520) photoproduction off the deuteron

Abstract

We analyze an effect of the coherent $Θ^+Λ(1520)$ photoproduction in $γD$ interaction near the threshold. We demonstrate that the coherence effect becomes manifest in a comparison of the $nK^+$ invariant mass distribution when the $pK^-$ invariant equals the $Λ(1520)$ mass. Our model calculations indicate a sizeable contribution of resonant and non-resonant background processes in the $γD\to np K^+K^-$ reaction which generally exceed the contribution of the coherent resonant channel. However, we find that the coherent $Θ^+Λ(1520)$ photoproduction is enhanced relative to the background processes in the forward hemisphere of the $pK^-$ pair photoproduction. Moreover, the coherence effect does not depend on the $Θ^+$ photoproduction amplitude and is defined by the probabilities of the $Λ(1520)$ photoproduction and the $Θ^+\to NK$ transition. Therefore, this coherence effect may be used as an independent method for studying the mechanism of $Θ^+$ production and $Θ^+$ properties.

34 pages, 22 figures