A measurement of K∗ (892)± production in hadronic Z0 decays

Measurements are presented of the inclusive cross section for K∗(892)± production in hadronic decays of the Z0 using a sample of about half a million events recorded with the OPAL experiment at LEP. Charged K∗ mesons are reconstructed in the decay channel K0Sπ±. A mean rate of 0.72±0.02±0.08 K∗ mesons per hadronic event is found. Comparison of the results with predictions of the JETSET and HERWIG models shows that JETSET overestimates the K∗± production cross section while HERWIG is consistent with the data.