Vector meson-baryon dynamics in photoproduction reactions around 2 GeV

Abstract

Abstract. We investigate the role of vector mesons and coupled-channel unitarization on photoproduction reactions off the proton at energies around 2 GeV. We explain the sudden drop on the γp → K 0 Σ + cross section, observed recently by the CBELSA/TAPS collaboration, by a delicate interference between amplitudes having K * Λ and K * Σ intermediate states modulated by the presence of a nearby N * resonance produced by our model, a feature that we have employed to predict its properties. We also show the importance of coupled-channel unitarization in the γp → K * 0 Σ + reaction, measured recently by CBELSA/TAPS and CLAS with conflicting results.