The role of the P₁₁(1710) in the NN{to}N{Sigma}K reaction

Using the resonance model, which was successfully applied for the study of the $pp{\to}p{\Lambda}K^+$ reaction, we investigate $NN{\to}N{\Sigma}K$ reactions that should provide cleaner information about resonance excitations and meson exchange contributions. For this purpose we demonstrate that the invariant mass distribution for the ${\Sigma}K$ system, as well as the Dalitz plot for the $NN{\to}N{\Sigma}K$ reaction, provide direct information about the ${\Sigma}K$ production mechanism, which can be tested in the near future by experiments at COSY.