Dynamics of K^+ Production in Heavy Ion Collisions close to Threshold

In this article the production of $K^+$ at energies close to the threshold is studied in detail. The production mechanisms, the influence of in-medium effects, cross sections, the nuclear equation of state and the dynamics of the nucleons on the kaon dynamics are discussed. A special regard will be taken on the collision of Au+Au at 1.5 GeV, a reaction that has recently been analyzed in detail by experiments performed by the KaoS and FOPI collaborations at the SIS accelerator at GSI.