Strange mesons in dense nuclear matter.

Experimental data on the production of kaons and antikaons in heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies are presented and discussed with respect to in-medium effects. The K ⁻/K⁺ ratios measured in nucleus-nucleus collisions are 1–2 orders of magnitude larger than in proton-proton collisions. The azimuthal angle distributions of K ⁺ mesons indicate a repulsive kaon-nucleon potential. Microscopic transport calculations consistently explain both the yields and the emission patterns of kaons and antikaons when assuming that their properties are modified in dense nuclear matter. The K ⁺ production excitation functions measured in light and heavy collision systems provide evidence for a soft nuclear equation-of-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]