K--Nucleus Potentials Consistent with Kaonic Atoms

Various models of the K- nucleus potential have been compared and tested in fits to kaonic atom data. The calculations give basically two vastly different predictions for the depth of the K- optical potential at the nuclear density. The study of the (K-stop, π) reaction could help to distinguish between K- optical potentials as the Λ-hypernuclear formation rates are sensitive to the details of the initial-state K- wave function. (author)