The pp{yields}p{Lambda}K{sup +} and pp{yields}p{Sigma}{sup 0}K{sup +} reactions with chiral dynamics
We report on a theoretical study of the pp{yields}p{Lambda}K{sup +} and pp{yields}p{Sigma}{sup 0}K{sup +} reactions near threshold using a chiral dynamical approach. The production process is described by single-pion and single-kaon exchange. The final state interactions of nucleon-hyperon, K-hyperon, and K-nucleon systems are also taken into account. We show that our model leads to a fair description of the experimental data on the total cross section of the pp{yields}p{Lambda}K{sup +} and pp{yields}p{Sigma}{sup 0}K{sup +} reactions. We find that the experimental observed strong suppression of {Sigma}{sup 0} production compared to {Lambda} production at the same excess energy can be explained. However, ignorance of phases between some amplitudes does not allow one to properly account for the nucleon-hyperon final state interaction for the pp{yields}p{Sigma}{sup 0}K{sup +} reaction. We also demonstrate that the invariant mass distribution and the Dalitz plot provide direct information about the {Lambda} and {Sigma}{sup 0} production mechanisms and may be tested by experiments at COSY or HIRFL-CSR.