RATIO OF THE K-0 AND K-ION COLLISIONS( YIELDS IN RELATIVISTIC HEAVY)

It is shown that the ratio of the yields of K-0 and K+ mesons in colli sions of isotopically asymmetric nuclei at incident energies of about 1 GeV per nucleon provides a rather direct characterization of the tem perature of nuclear matter at the initial stage of collisions. The sen sitivity of this ratio (K-0/K+ ratio) to temperature variations is ana lyzed. Ambiguities associated with interpreting this quantity as a pro be of nuclear temperature are discussed. It is argued that, to a consi derable extent, the K-0/K+ ratio is a model-independent quantity, prov ided that kaon production is dominated by channels featuring Delta iso bars.