Associated Photons inK-Particle Decays Observed with a Multiplate Cloud Chamber

Abstract

The existence of photons among the decay products of $K$-mesons is confirmed [see Bridge, Courant, DeStaebler, and Rossi, Phys. Rev. 91, 1024 (1953)]. If these photons arise through a two-body decay process, it is not possible to assume that they are produced directly as the neutral product; however, they can be accounted for quite naturally by assuming that the neutral product is a ${\pi }^0$-meson. The frequency with which the photons are observed is low and for this reason it is not possible to interpret all the decay events observed in the cloud chamber in terms of a single two-body decay process in which the neutral particle is a ${\pi }^0$-meson. The statistical arguments leading to this conclusion are given.