Search for the flavor-changing neutral current decay K+ → π+ ν bar ν

The observation that flavor-changing neutral currents (FCNC) in weak decays are highly suppressed was first explained by Glashow, Iliopoulos and Maiani in 1970, and their idea has since become a cornerstone of the Standard Model. They proposed a model of the weak interaction that included a then new fourth quark and which, in a natural way, allowed the existence of a neutral vector boson without inducing FCNC's at tree level. Thus ''the couplings of the neutral intermediary hor-ellipsis cause no embarrassment.'' In higher order through, decays like K → πl bar l can proceed. Measurements of such processes provide a detailed test of the Standard Model since definite predictions for their rates can be calculated. Conversely, if no contradictions are found and the standard model is assumed to describe the physics, measurements limit the allowed values of the parameters of the model. As is often the case in studying processes that are highly suppressed and heretofore unseen, improvements in the sensitivity of experiments allow the possibility for the discovery of new physics that exhibits a similar experimental signature. This paper describes experiment 787 at Brookhaven which is expected to address some of these issues. The status and future of the experiment will be described here. The main goal of E787 is to measure the rate of K+ → π+ν bar ν at the standard model level. In addition, the experiment has sensitivity to other FCNC decays of the charged kaon, in particular the decays K+ → π+μ+μ- and K+ → π+γγ