K+ elastic scattering from C and 6Li at 715 MeV/c

Elastic differential cross sections for K + mesons scattered from nat C and 6 Li targets have been measured at an incident momentum of 715 MeV/c and at angles of 7° to 42° in the laboratory frame. The experimental cross sections agree, within errors, with two different parameter-free impulse approximation calculations. To reduce the effects of the systematic errors, the ratio of the experimental cross sections for nat C to 6 Li is compared to the theoretical values, and these ratios do not agree with theory. This discrepancy suggests either a density-dependent alteration of K + -nucleon amplitudes or a failure of the optical potential calculations to describe these nuclides adequately.