K*(892)0 production in relativistic heavy ion collisions at √(sNN)=130 GeV

We report the first observation of K*(892)0→πK in relativistic heavy ion collisions. The transverse momentum spectrum of (K*0+K-bar*0)/2 from central Au+Au collisions at √(sNN)=130 GeV is presented. The ratios of the K*0 yield derived from these data to the yields of negative hadrons, charged kaons, and φ mesons have been measured in central and minimum bias collisions and compared with model predictions and comparable e+e-, pp, and p-barp results. The data indicate no dramatic reduction of K*0 production in relativistic heavy ion collisions despite expected losses due to rescattering effects