$K^*(892)$ and $\phi(1020)$ production and their decay into the hadronic medium at the Large Hadron Collider

Abstract

The production of the $K^*(892)$ strange resonance in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=2.76$ TeV LHC energy is analyzed within the integrated hydrokinetic model (iHKM) at different equations of state of superdense matter. The similar analysis is done also for the RHIC top energy $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV for comparison purposes. A modification of experimental $K^*(892)$-identification is studied for different centralities in view of possible re-scattering of the decay products at the afterburner stage of the fireball evolution. We see quite intensive rescattering of the decay products as well as recombination processes for $K^*(892)$. In addition, the production of the much longer-long-lived $\phi(1020)$ resonance with hidden strange quark content is investigated.