The NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS is performing a uniqe study of the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter by varying collision energy and nuclear mass number of colliding nuclei. In central Pb+Pb collisions the NA49 experiment found structures in the energy dependence of several observables in the CERN SPS energy range that had been predicted for the transition to a deconfined phase. New measurements of NA61/SHINE find intriguing similarities in p+p interactions for which no deconfinement transition is expected at SPS energies. Possible implications will be discussed.
K+/PI+ at y=0.
K+/PI+ at y=0.
<K+>/<PI+>.
Transverse momentum ($p_{\rm{T}}$) spectra of pions, kaons, and protons up to $p_{\rm{T}} = 20$ GeV/$c$ have been measured in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV using the ALICE detector for six different centrality classes covering 0-80%. The proton-to-pion and the kaon-to-pion ratios both show a distinct peak at $p_{\rm{T}} \approx 3$ GeV/$c$ in central Pb-Pb collisions that decreases towards more peripheral collisions. For $p_{\rm{T}} > 10$ GeV/$c$, the nuclear modification factor is found to be the same for all three particle species in each centrality interval within systematic uncertainties of 10-20%. This suggests there is no direct interplay between the energy loss in the medium and the particle species composition in the hard core of the quenched jet. For $p_{\rm{T}} < 10$ GeV/$c$, the data provide important constraints for models aimed at describing the transition from soft to hard physics.
Invariant yields of identified pions in Pb-Pb collisions.
Invariant yields of identified kaons in Pb-Pb collisions.
Invariant yields of identified protons in Pb-Pb collisions.
Data on the mean multiplicity of strange hadrons produced in minimum bias proton--proton and central nucleus--nucleus collisions at momenta between 2.8 and 400 GeV/c per nucleon have been compiled. The multiplicities for nucleon--nucleon interactions were constructed. The ratios of strange particle multiplicity to participant nucleon as well as to pion multiplicity are larger for central nucleus--nucleus collisions than for nucleon--nucleon interactions at all studied energies. The data at AGS energies suggest that the latter ratio saturates with increasing masses of the colliding nuclei. The strangeness to pion multiplicity ratio observed in nucleon--nucleon interactions increases with collision energy in the whole energy range studied. A qualitatively different behaviour is observed for central nucleus--nucleus collisions: the ratio rapidly increases when going from Dubna to AGS energies and changes little between AGS and SPS energies. This change in the behaviour can be related to the increase in the entropy production observed in central nucleus-nucleus collisions at the same energy range. The results are interpreted within a statistical approach. They are consistent with the hypothesis that the Quark Gluon Plasma is created at SPS energies, the critical collision energy being between AGS and SPS energies.
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