On the Production of Hypernuclei Using Fast Kaons

The differential cross sections for the production of definite lambda hypernuclear states are calculated for the reaction n(K−, π−)Λ° on nuclear targets of helium, carbon, and oxygen at incident momenta from 500 to 800 MeV/c. A direct interaction model is used, employing the single scattering, impulse approximation. It is shown that these predictions are very sensitive to the three-momentum transfer and to the wave function of the bound lambda in the hypernucleus. Possible experimental consequences are discussed concerning the observation of hypernucleus production by studying the missing mass spectrum of the emitted pion.