Azimuthal and pseudo-rapidity correlations with strange particles at intermediate-p$_T$ at RHIC

Abstract

We present results on two-particle azimuthal correlations with strange trigger particles ($K^0_S$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi$, $\Omega$) associated with unidentified charged particles %at intermediate $p_T$ in d+Au and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 200 GeV. We investigate, in detail, the near-side associated yield as a function of centrality, $p_T$ and strangeness content in the trigger particle to look for possible flavor and baryon/meson differences. We compare our results to a fragmentation and recombination model, where the study of $\Omega$-triggered correlations is used as a critical test of the validity of the recombination picture.