Strange-particle production in antiproton annihilation on nuclei at low energies

The experimental data on the Λ- and K _S ⁰ -meson production in antiproton annihilation of nuclei at low energies (E _E p<200 MeV) are analysed in order to understand if there is some additional (in comparison to the pp case) production of strange particles in antiproton-nucleus annihilation. We conclude that simple rescattering of annihilation mesons suffices to ensure a significant Λ-production yield even in the low-energy region essentially below the {Mathematical expression}-threshold. No enhancement of strangeness production in pA annihilation exists; on the contrary, one may speculate on the suppression of strangeness production in the case of p annihilation in⁴He,¹⁴N and Ne gases. The main source of the abundant hyperon production is the rescattering of annihilation kaons. The rescattering scheme is capable of satisfactory reproduction of the yield of semi-inclusive annihilation channels with two strange particles in the final state.