The production of φ-mesons in proton-proton collisions is investigated within a relativistic meson-exchange model of hadronic interactions. The experimental prerequisites for extracting the N N φ coupling strength from this reaction are discussed. In the absence of a sufficient set of data, which would enable an accurate determination of the N N φ coupling strength, we perform a combined analysis, based on some reasonable assumptions, of the existing data for both ω-and φ-meson production. We find that the recent data from the DISTO collaboration on the angular distribution of the φ meson indicate that the N N φ coupling constant is small. The analysis yields values for g N N φ that are compatible with the OZI rule.

A dynamical model for S-and P-wave correlated 2π (and KK) exchange between a kaon and a nucleon is presented, starting from corresponding NN → KK amplitudes in the pseudophysical region, which have been constructed from nucleon, ∆-isobar and hyperon (Λ, Σ) exchange Born terms and a realistic meson exchange model of the ππ → KK and KK → KK amplitude. The contribution in the s-channel is then obtained by performing a dispersion relation over the unitarity cut. In the ρ-channel, considerable ambiguities exist, depending on how the dispersion integral is performed. Our model, supplemented by short range interaction terms, is able to describe empirical K + N data below pion production threshold in a satisfactory way.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract