Measurements of neutral and charged kaon production at high pT up to 15 GeV/c at STAR

TL;DR

This paper extends measurements of neutral and charged kaon production at high transverse momentum in p+p and Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV, providing data to test jet quenching models and quark-gluon plasma effects.

Contribution

It presents the first high-$p_T$ spectra of charged and neutral kaons up to 15 GeV/c, and compares their nuclear modification factors to theoretical predictions involving jet conversion.

Findings

Kaon $R_{AA}$ in central collisions aligns with jet conversion models.

High-$p_T$ kaon spectra extend previous measurements up to 15 GeV/c.

Differences in $K^{ eutral}/ ext{pion}$ ratios observed at high $p_T$.

Abstract

We report an extension of charged kaon transverse momentum ($p_T$) spectra at mid-rapidity ($\mid y\mid <$ 0.5) up to 15 GeV/$c$, neutral kaon $p_T$ spectra up to 12 GeV/$c$ using events triggered by the Barrel Electro-Magnetic Calorimeter (BEMC) from p+p collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. The $K^{\pm}/\pi^{\pm}$ and $K^{0}/\pi^{\pm}$ at high $p_T$ are compared in p+p and Au+Au collisions, and nuclear modification factor ($R_{AA}$)for pion, kaon, proton and rho are discussed. The $R_{AA}$ for kaon in central collisions are consistent with theory calculation having jet conversion in a plasma of quarks and gluons.