${\mathrm{K}}_1(1270)$ production in pp collisions with ALICE

The study of chiral partners such as ${\mathrm{K}}_1$ and ${\mathrm{K}}^{\ast }$ mesons, which have vacuum widths below 100 MeV, provides an opportunity to explore chiral symmetry restoration in heavy-ion collisions. A recent theoretical model suggests that the ${\mathrm{K}}_1\mathrm{/}{\mathrm{K}}^{\ast }$ ratio in heavy-ion collisions should be significantly larger than that predicted by the statistical hadronisation model. Investigating the ${\mathrm{K}}_1\mathrm{/}{\mathrm{K}}^{\ast }$ ratio as a function of multiplicity across various collision systems, from pp to central heavy-ion collisions, can shed light on the impact of chiral symmetry restoration. However, the ${\mathrm{K}}_1$ meson has yet to be observed in hadron-hadron collisions. The ALICE detector’s advanced particle identification capabilities enable the measurement of the ${\mathrm{K}}_1$ meson through hadronic decay modes, such as ${\mathrm{K}}_1^{-}\to {\rho }^0{\mathrm{K}}^{-}$ and ${\mathrm{K}}_1^{-}\to {\pi }^{-}{\bar{\mathrm{K}}}^{\ast 0}$. This presentation discusses the feasibility of measuring ${\mathrm{K}}_1$ mesons in pp collisions using the ALICE experiment.