Photoproduction of K+K− Pairs in Ultraperipheral Collisions

K+K− pairs may be produced in photonuclear collisions, either from the decays of photoproduced ϕ(1020) mesons or directly as nonresonant K+K− pairs. Measurements of K+K− photoproduction probe the couplings between the ϕ(1020) and charged kaons with photons and nuclear targets. The kaon-proton scattering occurs at energies far above those available elsewhere. We present the first measurement of coherent photoproduction of K+K− pairs on lead ions in ultraperipheral collisions using the ALICE detector, including the first investigation of direct K+K− production. There is significant K+K− production at low transverse momentum, consistent with coherent photoproduction on lead targets. In the mass range 1.1<MKK<1.4  GeV/c2 above the ϕ(1020) resonance, for rapidity |yKK|<0.8 and pT,KK<0.1  GeV/c, the measured coherent photoproduction cross section is dσ/dy=3.37±0.61(stat)±0.15(syst)  mb. The center-of-mass energy per nucleon of the photon-nucleus (Pb) system WγPb,n ranges from 33 to 188 GeV, far higher than previous measurements on heavy-nucleus targets. The cross section is larger than expected for ϕ(1020) photoproduction alone. The mass spectrum is fit to a cocktail consisting of ϕ(1020) decays, direct K+K− photoproduction, and interference between the two. The confidence regions for the amplitude and relative phase angle for direct K+K− photoproduction are presented. © 2024 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration 2024 CERN