Phenomenological study of the Λc+ → pK- π+ decay

The thesis contains a phenomenological study of the Λc+ → pK-π+ decay and is based on 121 events from NA32/2 experiment. Review of models of the nonleptonic decay of charmed baryons is closed by pointing out the problems in the application of the heavy quark model to the description of the factorization part of the decay. Analysis of the Dalitz plot distribution indicates undoubted presence of the K-*0 (892) and small Δ++ contribution. Broad band for low mKp2 may results from Λ(1600). Coefficients of the angular distribution for a three-body weak decay of a fermion with spin 1/2, 3/2 and 5/2 are calculated and their range of change is evaluated. Angular distribution of the normal to the decay plane in the Gottfried-Jackson frame is consistent with the quark model prediction, i.e. spin 1/2 assignment for Λc+. No experimental evidence for spin 3/2 and 5/2 assignments for Λc+ was observed, namely the higher moments of the cosΘGJ and φGJ distribution vanish. The distribution of the kaon direction with respect to the normal to the Λc+ production plane is highly asymmetrical. This represents the first experimental observation of transverse polarization in a hadroproduction of charmed baryon. It is also indicates the strong kaon asymmetry in the weak Λc+ → pK-π+ decay. The product of the polarization and the asymmetry, for transverse momentum pT(Λc+)>1.1 GeV, is found to be -0.65-0.18+0.22. (author). 10 figs, 13 tabs