Production of K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ and $\phi(1020)$ in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV

TL;DR

This study measures K* and phi meson production in pp and Pb-Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV, revealing effects of radial flow, rescattering, and suppression patterns consistent with previous energies, enhancing understanding of quark-gluon plasma properties.

Contribution

First detailed measurement of K* and phi mesons at 5.02 TeV in pp and Pb-Pb collisions, analyzing their spectra, suppression, and flow effects to probe the hadronic phase and quark-gluon plasma.

Findings

K* to K ratio is suppressed in Pb-Pb, indicating rescattering effects.

Phi mesons show no suppression, suggesting longer lifetime.

High pT R_AA values for K* and phi are below unity and similar to other hadrons.

Abstract

The production of K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ and $\phi(1020)$ mesons in proton-proton (pp) and lead-lead (Pb-Pb) collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV has been measured using the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) distributions of K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ and $\phi(1020)$ mesons have been measured at midrapidity $(|y|<0.5)$ up to $p_{\mathrm{T}} = 20$ GeV$/c$ in inelastic pp collisions and for several Pb-Pb collision centralities. The collision centrality and collision energy dependence of the average transverse momenta agree with the radial flow scenario observed with stable hadrons, showing that the effect is stronger for more central collisions and higher collision energies. The $\mathrm{K^{*0}/K}$ ratio is found to be suppressed in Pb-Pb collisions relative to pp collisions: this indicates a loss of the measured K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ signal due to rescattering of its decay products in the hadronic phase. In contrast, for the longer-lived $\phi(1020)$ mesons, no such suppression is observed. The nuclear modification factors ($R_{\rm AA}$) of K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ and $\phi(1020)$ mesons are calculated using pp reference spectra at the same collision energy. In central Pb-Pb collisions for $p_{\rm T} > 8$ GeV$/c$, the $R_{\rm AA}$ values of K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ and $\phi(1020)$ are below unity and observed to be similar to those of pions, kaons, and (anti)protons. The $R_{\rm AA}$ values at high $p_{\mathrm T}$ ($>$~8 GeV$/c$) for K$^{*}(892)^{0}$ and $\phi(1020)$ mesons are in agreement within uncertainties for $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ and 2.76 TeV.