$K^*/K$ ratio and the time between freeze-outs for intermediate-mass Ar+Sc system at the SPS energy range

TL;DR

This paper investigates the production of the $K^*(892)^0$ resonance in Ar+Sc collisions at SPS energies to understand the freeze-out dynamics and compare with lighter and heavier systems.

Contribution

It provides the first analysis of $K^*(892)^0$ production in Ar+Sc collisions at SPS energies, estimating the time between chemical and kinetic freeze-outs.

Findings

$K^*(892)^0/K^{+/-}$ ratios vary with energy and system size.

Comparison with $p$+$p$ and heavier systems reveals system-dependent freeze-out times.

Results contribute to understanding resonance behavior in intermediate-mass nuclear collisions.

Abstract

Resonance production is one of the key observables to study the dynamics of high-energy collisions. In dense systems created in heavy nucleus-nucleus collisions, the properties of some of them (widths, masses, branching ratios) were predicted to be modified due to partial restoration of chiral symmetry. The resonance spectra and yields are also important inputs for Blast-Wave and Hadron Resonance Gas models. Finally, the analysis of strange $K^*(892)^0$ resonance allows us to better understand the time evolution of high-energy nucleus-nucleus collision. Namely, the ratio of $K^*(892)^0$ to charged kaons is used to determine the time between chemical and kinetic freeze-outs. In this article, the first results on the analysis of $K^*(892)^0$ production in central Ar+Sc collisions at three SPS energies ($\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$ = 8.8, 11.9, 16.8 GeV) are presented. The $K^*(892)^0/K^{+/-}$ yield ratios are compared with corresponding results in $p$+$p$ collisions, allowing us to estimate the time between chemical and thermal freeze-outs in Ar+Sc collisions. These first results for intermediate-mass nucleus-nucleus systems at the SPS energy range are compared with the results of heavier systems at a similar energy range.