Kaon production in high multiplicity events at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper investigates $K_S^0$ meson production in high multiplicity proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV using the hybrid formalism and BK equation solutions, comparing theoretical predictions with ALICE experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework combining the hybrid formalism and BK equation solutions to predict $K_S^0$ yields in high multiplicity events, aligning with experimental observations.

Findings

Self-normalized $K_S^0$ yields increase steeply with multiplicity.

Theoretical predictions match ALICE data for different BK solutions.

The study provides insights into particle production mechanisms at high energies.

Abstract

The production of the $K_S^0$ meson in high multiplicity $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV is investigated considering the hybrid formalism and the solution of the running coupling Balitsky - Kovchegov equation. The associated cross section is estimated and compared with the experimental data for the transverse momentum spectrum. Moreover, we analyze the self-normalized yields of $K_S^0$ mesons as a function of the multiplicity of coproduced charged hadrons and demonstrate that a steep increasing is theoretically predicted. A comparison with the ALICE data is presented considering two distinct solutions of the BK equation.