Baryon-antibaryon pair production in two-photon collisions at LEP

Baryon pair production in two-photon collisions is studied with the L3 detector at LEP. The following reactions are identified: gamma gamma to pp, gamma gamma to Lambda Lambda , gamma gamma to Sigma /sup 0/ Sigma /sup 0/ and gamma gamma to Lambda Sigma /sup 0/ + Sigma /sup 0/ Lambda . The analyses are based on data collected at e/sup +/e/sup $/center-of-mass energies from 91 GeV to 208 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 844 pb/sup -1/. Their cross section is measured as a function of the two-photon center-of-mass energy and the production polar angle. The results are compared to the predictions of the quark-diquark and handbag models. (12 refs).