Reduction of the $K^*$ meson abundance in heavy ion collisions

TL;DR

This paper investigates how hadronic interactions reduce the $K^*$ meson abundance in heavy ion collisions, explaining the observed yield ratios by modeling meson absorption and interactions during the hadronic phase.

Contribution

It provides a detailed evaluation of $K^*$ and $K$ meson absorption cross sections and demonstrates how hadronic effects influence meson yields, aligning theoretical predictions with experimental data.

Findings

$K^*/K$ ratio decreases by 36% during hadronic expansion.

Final $K^*/K$ ratio matches STAR measurements of 0.23 ± 0.05.

Hadronic interactions significantly impact meson yield differences.

Abstract

We study the $K^*$ meson reduction in heavy ion collisions by focusing on the hadronic effects on the $K^*$ meson abundance. We evaluate the absorption cross sections of the $K^*$ and $K$ meson by light mesons in the hadronic matter, and further investigate the variation in the meson abundances for both particles during the hadronic stage of heavy ion collisions. We show how the interplay between the interaction of the $K^*$ meson and kaon with light mesons in the hadronic medium determines the final yield difference of the statistical hadronization model to the experimental measurements. For the central Au+Au collision at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV, we find that the $K^*/K$ yield ratio at chemical freeze-out decreases by $36\%$ during the expansion of the hadronic matter, resulting in the final ratio comparable to STAR measurements of 0.23 $\pm0.05$.