Meson and hyperon production results from the DISTO spectrometer at SATURNE

The production of η, η′, ω, φ, mesons, as well as λ and ∑ hyperons has been measured in proton-proton reactions with an incident beam momentum of 3.67 GeV/c with DISTO spectrometer at SATURNE. The first observation of the φ meson near the production threshold and the φ/ω cross sections ratio has been compared to predictions based on the OZI rule and on one-boson-exchange models. Measured inclusive cross section for K^- mesons production is about a factor of 20 lower than for inlcusive K⁺ production at the same CM energy above threshold. This fact is in strong contrast to cross sections observed in sub-threshold heavy ion collisions. The production of η and η′ mesons has also been measured, in an effort to gain information on the η′-nucleon coupling. The normal spin transfer coefficient (D_{N N}) has been determined for exclusive hyperon production with a polarized beam. A large negative coefficient has been observed, which is qualitatively consistent with expectations for a mechanism dominated by kaon-exchange and rescattering.