Kaon-Nucleus Interaction Studied through the in-flight Reactions

We studied the K ¯ -nucleus interaction by the ( K − , N ) reactions on 12C and 16O. An appreciable strength observed in a bound region indicates that the K ¯ -nuclear potential is strongly attractive. Potential depth was derived by comparing with the theoretical calculations. It is −190 MeV for the C ( K − , n ) 12 −160 MeV for the C ( K − , p ) 12 , and −180 MeV for the O ( K − , n ) 16 reaction and −160 MeV for the O ( K − , p ) 16 respectively. Our data suggest that the K ¯ -nucleus potential is sufficiently deep to realize kaon condensation in the core of neutron stars.