Production of hypernuclei by K/sup -/ in flight

The authors are performing at the CERN Proton Synchrotron a counter experiment on the reaction K/sup -/+/sup A/Z to /sub Lambda //sup A /Z*+ pi /sup -/ induced by K/sup -/ of 390 MeV/c with pi /sup -/ detected at forward angles (<or=10 degrees ). Targets of /sup 12/C and /sup 16/O have so far studied. They discuss the results of a preliminary analysis of about 60% of the statistics collected on /sup 12/C. The energy resolution reached in this first analysis is 6 MeV, and will be probably improved with a more careful reconstruction. The most striking feature of the spectrum is the strong excitation of a state at approximately 10 MeV, whereas the production of /sub Lambda /C/sup 12/ in the ground state is much less intense. (0 refs).