Hyperon resonances are becoming an extremely useful tool allowing the study of the properties of hadronic fireballs made in heavy ion collisions. Their yield, compared to stable particles with the same quark composition, depends on hadronization conditions. The resonances short lifetime makes them ideal probes of the fireball chemical freeze-out mechanisms. An analysis of resonance abundance in heavy ion collisions should be capable of distinguishing between possible hadronization scenarios, in particular between sudden and gradual hadronization. In this paper, we review the existing SPS and RHIC experimental data on resonance production in heavy ion collisions, and discuss in terms of both thermal and microscopic models the yields of the two observed resonances, K* and Lambda(1520). We show how freeze-out properties, namely chemical freeze-out temperature and the lifetime of the interacting hadron phase which follows, can be related to resonance yields. Finally, we apply these methods to SPS and RHIC measurements, discuss the significance and interpretations of our findings, and suggest further measurements which may help in clarifying existing ambiguities.
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