Subthreshold kaon production and the nuclear equation of state

We reexamine in the relativistic transport model the dependence of kaon yield on the nuclear equation of state in heavy ion collisions at energies that are below the threshold for kaon production from the nucleon-nucleon interaction in free space. For Au+Au collisions at GeV/nucleon, we find that the kaon yield measured by the Kaos collaboration at GSI can be accounted for if a soft nuclear equation of state is used. We also confirm the results obtained in non-relativistic transport models that the dependence of kaon yield on the nuclear equation of state is more appreciable in heavy ion collisions at lower incident energies. We further clarify the difference between the predictions from the relativistic transport model and the non-relativistic transport model with a momentum-dependent potential.