KAON PRODUCTION FROM HOT AND DENSE MATTER FORMED IN HEAVY-ION COLLISIONS

In heavy-ion collisions, kaons can be produced from baryon-baryon, meson-baryon, and meson-meson interactions. Simple meson-exchange models are introduced to study kaon production from these processes in the free space. These models are then extended to determine kaon production in hot, dense nuclear matter by taking into account the decreasing hadron masses as a result of the restoration of chiral symmetry and the condensation of kaons. We find that the cross sections for kaon production from all three processes are enhanced. In particular, the effect of decreasing hadron masses on kaon production from the meson-meson annihilation is most significant. In the hydrochemical model for heavy-ion collisions, we demonstrate that the observed enhancement of kaon yield in high-energy heavy-ion collisions can be explained if the medium effect is included.