Observation of k+d correlations from pA collisions

Results of a first experiment on (K+p) and (K+d) correlations from proton-carbon (pC) and proton-deuteron (pd) interactions at beam energies above and much below the threshold for elementary kaon production in nucleon-nucleon reactions ( TNN = 1580 MeV) are discussed. These data, obtained with the ANKE spectrometer at COSY-Julich, provide first direct evidence for K+ production via the two-step mechanism and an indication for a cluster mechanism. It is shown that both processes contribute significantly in pC collisions at 1200 MeV, while they are strongly suppressed at 2300 MeV and also in pd-interactions at 1344 MeV. It is emphasized that the underlying kinematics can be exploited to distinguish between these reaction mechanisms.