Study of the e+e- →k+K- reaction in the energy range from 2.6 to 8.0 GeV

The e^+e^− → K^+K^− cross section and charged-kaon electromagnetic form factor are measured in the e^+e^− center-of-mass energy range (E) from 2.6 to 8.0 GeV using the initial-state radiation technique with an undetected photon. The study is performed using 469  fb^(−1) of data collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II2 e^+e^− collider at center-of-mass energies near 10.6 GeV. The form factor is found to decrease with energy faster than 1/E^2 and approaches the asymptotic QCD prediction. Production of the K^+K^− final state through the J/ψ and ψ(2S) intermediate states is observed. The results for the kaon form factor are used together with data from other experiments to perform a model-independent determination of the relative phases between electromagnetic (single-photon) and strong amplitudes in J/ψ and ψ(2S) → K^+K^− decays. The values of the branching fractions measured in the reaction e^+e^− → K^+K^− are shifted relative to their true values due to interference between resonant and nonresonant amplitudes. The values of these shifts are determined to be about ±5% for the J/ψ meson and ±15% for the ψ(2S) meson.