Final-state lambda-neutron interaction in kaon photoproduction from the deuteron

The effects of the Λn interaction on cross sections and Λ polarization in the reaction (γ + d → K+ + Λ0 + n) are investigated in the spirit of the impulse approximation for three different potential models which have quite different scattering lengths and effective ranges. We find the interaction causes a significant enhancement of the cross section for the exclusive process d(γ,K+)Λ0n. The produced lambda tends to be depolarized and the polarization is sensitive to the potentials considered. We suggest that this reaction be used to extract information on the lambda-neutron interaction by experiments being proposed for the new accelerators. (author)