Particle Production in p-p and Heavy Ion Collisions at Ultrarelativistic Energies

Recent results related to the chemical equilibration of hadrons in the final state of p-p and heavy ion collisions are reviewed.

Antimatter production in proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions at ultrarelativistic energies

One of the striking features of particle production at high beam energies is the near equal abundance of matter and antimatter in the central rapidity region. In this paper we study how this symmetry is reached as the beam energy is increased. In particular, we quantify explicitly the energy dependence of the approach to matter/antimatter symmetry in proton-proton and in heavy-ion collisions. Expectations are presented also for the production of more complex forms of antimatter like antihypernuclei.

Prospects for Strangeness Production in pp Collisions at LHC

Prospects for strangeness production in pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are discussed within the statistical model. Firstly, the system size and the energy dependence of the model parameters are extracted from existing data and extrapolated to LHC energy. Particular attention is paid to demonstrate that the chemical decoupling temperature is independent of the system size. In the energy regime investigated so far, strangeness production in pp interactions is strongly influenced by the canonical suppression effects. At LHC energies, this influence might be reduced. Particle ratios with particular sensitivity to canonical effects are indicated. Secondly, the relation between the strangeness production and the charged-particle multiplicity in pp interactions is investigated. In this context the multiplicity dependence studied at Tevatron is of particular interest. There, the trend in relative strangeness production known from centrality dependent heavy-ion collisions is not seen in multiplicity selected pp interactions. However, the conclusion from the Tevatron measurements is based on rather limited data samples with low statistics and number of observables. We argue, that there is an absolute need at LHC to measure strangeness production in events with different multiplicities to possibly disentangle relations and differences between particle production in pp and heavy-ion collisions.

Particle production in p-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 17 GeV within the statistical model

A thermal-model analysis of particle production of p-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 17 GeV using the latest available data is presented. The sensitivity of model parameters on data selections and model assumptions is studied. The system-size dependence of thermal parameters and recent differences in the statistical model analysis of p-p collisions at the super proton synchrotron (SPS) are discussed. It is shown that the temperature and strangeness undersaturation factor depend strongly on kaon yields which at present are still not well known experimentally. It is conclude, that within the presently available data at the SPS it is rather unlikely that the temperature in p-p collisions exceeds significantly that expected in central collisions of heavy ions at the same energy.

Particle production in p-p collisions and prediction for LHC energy

We analyze recent data on particle production yields obtained in p-p collisions at SPS and RHIC energies within the statistical model. We apply the model formulated in the canonical ensemble and focus on strange particle production. We introduce different methods to account for strangeness suppression effects and discuss their phenomenological verification. We show that at RHIC the midrapidity data on strange and multistrange particle multiplicity can be successfully described by the canonical statistical model with and without an extra suppression effects. On the other hand, SPS data integrated over the full phase-space require an additional strangeness suppression factor that is beyond the conventional canonical model. This factor is quantified by the strangeness saturation parameter or strangeness correlation volume. Extrapolating all relevant thermal parameters from SPS and RHIC to LHC energy we present predictions of the statistical model for particle yields in p-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 14TeV. We discuss the role and the influence of a strangeness correlation volume on particle production in p-p collisions at LHC.

Chemical Equilibrium in Collisions of Small Systems

The system-size dependence of particle production in heavy-ion collisions at the top SPS energy is analyzed in terms of the statistical model. A systematic comparison is made of two suppression mechanisms that quantify strange particle yields in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions: the canonical model with strangeness correlation radius determined from the data and the model formulated in the canonical ensemble using chemical off-equilibrium strangeness suppression factor. The system-size dependence of the correlation radius and the thermal parameters are obtained for p-p, C-C, Si-Si and Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 17.3 AGeV. It is shown that on the basis of a consistent set of data there is no clear difference between the two suppression patterns. In the present study the strangeness correlation radius was found to exhibit a rather weak dependence on the system size.

Statistical Model Predictions for p-p and Pb-Pb collisions at LHC

Predictions for particle production at LHC are discussed in the context of the statistical model. Moreover, the capability of particle ratios to determine the freeze-out point experimentally is studied, and the best suited ratios are specified. Finally, canonical suppression in p-p collisions at LHC energies is discussed in a cluster framework. Measurements with p-p collisions will allow us to estimate the strangeness correlation volume and to study its evolution over a large range of incident energies.