Enhanced production of multi-strange hadrons in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions
At sufficiently high temperature and energy density, nuclear matter undergoes a transition to a phase in which quarks and gluons are not confined: the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Such an exotic state of strongly interacting quantum chromodynamics matter is produced in the laboratory in heavy nuclei hi...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Corporate Author: | |
| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
24 April 2017
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| In: |
Nature physics
Year: 2017, Volume: 13, Issue: 6, Pages: 535-539 |
| ISSN: | 1745-2481 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/nphys4111 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nphys4111 Verlag, Volltext: https://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v13/n6/full/nphys4111.html |
| Author Notes: | Alice Collaboration |
| Summary: | At sufficiently high temperature and energy density, nuclear matter undergoes a transition to a phase in which quarks and gluons are not confined: the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Such an exotic state of strongly interacting quantum chromodynamics matter is produced in the laboratory in heavy nuclei high-energy collisions, where an enhanced production of strange hadrons is observed. Strangeness enhancement, originally proposed as a signature of QGP formation in nuclear collisions, is more pronounced for multi-strange baryons. Several effects typical of heavy-ion phenomenology have been observed in high-multiplicity proton-proton (pp) collisions, but the enhanced production of multi-strange particles has not been reported so far. Here we present the first observation of strangeness enhancement in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions. We find that the integrated yields of strange and multi-strange particles, relative to pions, increases significantly with the event charged-particle multiplicity. The measurements are in remarkable agreement with the p-Pb collision results, indicating that the phenomenon is related to the final system created in the collision. In high-multiplicity events strangeness production reaches values similar to those observed in Pb-Pb collisions, where a QGP is formed. |
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| Item Description: | ALICE Collaboration: J. Adam, V. Anguelov, M. Arslandok, M.C. Danisch, A. Deisting, P. Glässel, J. Kim, S. Klewin, M.L. Knichel, L. Leardini, J. Mercado Pérez, H. Oeschler, A. Ohlson, Y. Pachmayer, F. Reidt, K. Reygers, R. Schicker, J. Stachel, J.H. Stiller, M.A. Völkl, D.F. Weiser, J. Wilkinson, B. Windelband, M. Winn, A. Zimmermann [und weitere] Gesehen am 17.10.2018 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1745-2481 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/nphys4111 |