A coupled-channel analysis of KΛ production in the nucleon resonance region

A unitary coupled-channel effective Lagrangian model is applied to the combined analysis of the $(\pi,\gamma) N \to K\Lambda$ reactions in the energy region up to 2 GeV. To constrain the resonance couplings to the $K\Lambda$ final state the recent photoproduction data obtained by the SAPHIR, SPring-8, and CLAS groups are included into the calculations. The main resonance contributions to the process stem from the $S_{11}(1650)$, $P_{13}(1720)$, and $P_{13}(1900)$ states. The second bump at 1.9 GeV seen in the photoproduction cross section data is described as a coherent sum of the resonance and background contributions. The prediction for the beam polarization observable is presented.