At suffciently 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 e ects 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 mea- surements 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.

Enhanced production of multi-strange hadrons in high-multiplicity proton–proton collisions

CAMERINI, Paolo;FRAGIACOMO, ENRICO;LEA, RAMONA;LUPARELLO, GRAZIA;MARGAGLIOTTI, GIACOMO;PIANO, STEFANO;RUI, RINALDO;ŠULJIĆ, MILJENKO;Zaccolo, V.;
2017-01-01

Abstract

At suffciently 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 e ects 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 mea- surements 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.
2017
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http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v13/n6/full/nphys4111.html
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11368/2899995
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