Hadronic effects on the X(3872) meson abundance in heavy ion collisions

Abstract

We study the hadronic effects on the X(3872) meson abundance in heavy ion collisions. We evaluate the absorption cross sections of the X(3872) meson by pions and rho mesons in the hadronic stage of heavy ion collisions, and further investigate the variation in the X(3872) meson abundance during the expansion of the hadronic matter for its two possible quantum number states; $J^P=1^+$ and $2^-$. We show that the absorption cross sections and the time evolution of the X(3872) meson abundance are strongly dependent on the structure and quantum number of the X(3872) meson. We thus suggest that studying the abundance of the X(3872) meson in relativistic heavy ion collisions provides a chance to infer its quantum number as well as its structure.