Strangeness enhancements at central rapidity in 40 A GeV/c Pb-Pb collisions

TL;DR

This paper reports on strangeness production in Pb-Pb and p-Be collisions at 40 GeV/c, showing that strangeness enhancement increases with hyperon strangeness and collision centrality, with a steeper centrality dependence than at higher energies.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of strangeness enhancement at 40 GeV/c, revealing energy and centrality dependencies and extending understanding of strangeness production in heavy-ion collisions.

Findings

Enhancement increases with hyperon strangeness content.

Centrality dependence is steeper at 40 GeV/c than at 158 GeV/c.

Energy dependence of strangeness enhancement is discussed.

Abstract

Results are presented on neutral kaon, hyperon and antihyperon production in Pb-Pb and p-Be interactions at 40 GeV/c per nucleon. The enhancement pattern follows the same hierarchy as seen in the higher energy data - the enhancement increases with the strangeness content of the hyperons and with the centrality of collision. The centrality dependence of the Pb-Pb yields and enhancements is steeper at 40 than at 158 A GeV/c. The energy dependence of strangeness enhancements at mid-rapidity is discussed.