Multiplicity dependence of K*(892) ± production in pp collisions at s=13 TeV

Abstract

The first results of K*(892) ± production at midrapidity (| y | ' 0.5) in pp collisions at s=13 TeV as a function of the event multiplicity are presented. The K*(892) ± has been reconstructed via its hadronic decay channel K*(892)±→π±+KS0 using the ALICE detector at the LHC. For each multiplicity class, the differential transverse momentum (p T) spectrum, the mean transverse momentum ⟨ p T⟩, the p T-integrated yield (d N /d y), and the ratio of the K*(892) ± to KS0 yields are reported. These are consistent with previous K*(892)0 resonance results with a higher level of precision. Comparisons with phenomenological models such as PYTHIA6, PYTHIA8, EPOS-LHC, and DIPSY are also discussed. For the first time, a significant K*(892) ± /KS0 suppression in pp collisions is observed at a 7 σ level passing from low to high multiplicity events. The ratios of the p T-differential yields of K*(892) ± and KS0 in high and low multiplicity events are also presented along with their double ratio. For p T ≲ 2 GeV/ c this double ratio persists below unity by more than 3 σ suggesting that the suppression affects mainly low p T resonances. The measured decreasing trend of the K*(892) ± /KS0 ratio with increasing multiplicity, which in heavy-ion collisions is typically attributed to the rescattering of decay particles of the short-lived resonances, is reproduced by the EPOS-LHC model without the use of hadronic afterburners. © 2026 The Authors.