Cross Sections and Beam Asymmetries for K+ Sigma*- photoproduction from the deuteron at 1.5-2.4 GeV

Abstract

The $Σ(1385)$ resonance, or $Σ^*$, is well-known as part of the standard baryon decuplet with spin $J=3/2$. Measurements of the reaction $γp \to K^+ Σ^{*0}$ are difficult to extract due to overlap with the nearby $Λ(1405)$ resonance. However, the reaction $γn \to K^+ Σ^{*-}$ has no overlap with the $Λ(1405)$ due to its charge. Here we report the first measurement of cross sections and beam asymmetries for photoproduction of the \sigs from a deuteron target. % where the $K^+$ and $π^-$ are detected in the LEPS spectrometer. The cross sections at forward angles range from 0.4 to 1.2 $μ$b, with a broad maximum near $E_γ\simeq 1.8$ GeV. The beam asymmetries are negative, in contrast to postive values for the $γn \to K^+Σ^-$ reaction.