$\bar K^*$ meson in nuclear matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates the in-medium properties of the $ar K^*$ meson in dense nuclear matter, revealing significant broadening of its spectral function and proposing experimental detection methods.

Contribution

It introduces a unitary coupled-channel approach within the local hidden gauge formalism to analyze $ar K^*$ in nuclear matter, providing new insights into its in-medium modifications.

Findings

$ar K^*$ develops an in-medium width up to five times larger than in free space.

Spectral function analysis shows significant in-medium modifications.

Proposes experimental measurement via the $ o ext{K}^+ ext{K}^{*-}$ reaction.

Abstract

The properties of the $\bar K^*$ meson in dense matter are studied using a unitary approach in coupled channels within the framework of the local hidden gauge formalism. We obtain the $\bar K^*$ spectral function in the nuclear medium and we found that the $\bar K^*$ develops an in-medium width up to five times bigger than in free space. We also estimate the transparency ratio of the $\gamma A \to K^+ K^{*-} A^\prime$ reaction, which we propose as a feasible experimental scenario to detect in-medium modifications of the $\bar K^*$ meson.