Effect of resonance decays on hadron elliptic flows

Abstract

Within the quark coalescence model, we study effects of resonance decays, and of the quark momentum distribution in hadrons, on the elliptic flows of stable hadrons. We find that, with the exception of rho-meson decays, the resonance decays could have a significant effect on pion elliptic flow. However, most secondary pions stem from the rho-meson decays, resulting in a reduced effect of resonance decays on their flow. Proton and kaon flows as well as the lambda flow are, however, not much affected by resonance decays. The distribution of quark momentum in hadrons also influences their elliptic flows, leading to a better agreement with experimental flow data when compared with the naive quark coalescence model, which only allows quarks with equal momentum to form a hadron.