Production of Φ Mesons in Near-Threshold πN and N N Reactions

We analyze the production of Φ mesons in πN and NN reactions in the near-threshold region, using throughoutly the conventional "non-strange'' dynamics based on such processes which are allowed by the non-ideal ω - Φ mixing.
We show that the occurrence of the direct Φ NN interaction may show up in different unpolarized and polarization observables in π N to NΦ reactions. We find a strong non-trivial difference between observables in the reactions pp to ppΦ and pn to pnΦ caused by the different role of the spin singlet and triplet states in the entrance channel for the Φ meson production mechanisms. A series of predictions for the experimental study of this effect is presented.