KN scattering in the nonrelativistic quark model

KN scattering is of interest as a probe of nuclear structure and, more fundamentally, as a laboratory for the study of nonresonant hadron-hadron interactions. KN is a I theoretically attractive channel because of its simplicity, having only S = 1/2, no one pion exchange contributions and no valence q{anti q} annihilation. It may therefore be useful for the study of short-ranged quark forces analogous to the NN repulsive core. Since there are two isospin states, comparison of two closely related amplitudes is possible. This contribution reviews the experimental status of S-wave KN scattering and related theoretical studies based on quark-gluon dynamics. The experimental low-energy S-wave phase shift is well established for I = 1, but is not yet well determined for I = 0. The ratio of I = 0 to I = 1 scattering lengths is an interesting number theoretically, and may discriminate between different scattering mechanisms. A measurement of these scattering lengths at DAPHNE would be a useful contribution to low energy hadron physics.