Strangeness production in p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions with ALICE at LHC

Abstract

The main goal of the ALICE experiment is to study the properties of the hot and dense medium created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The measurement of the (multi-)strange particles is an important tool to understand particle production mechanisms and the dynamics of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). We report on the production of K$^{0}_{S}$, $\Lambda$($\overline{\Lambda}$), $\Xi^{-}$($\overline{\Xi}^{+}$) and $\Omega^{-}$($\overline{\Omega}^{+}$) in proton-lead (p-Pb) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV and lead-lead (Pb-Pb) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV measured by ALICE at the LHC. The comparison of the hyperon-to-pion ratios in the two colliding systems may provide insight into strangeness production mechanisms, while the comparison of the nuclear modification factors helps to determine the contribution of initial state effects and the suppression from strange quark energy loss in nuclear matter.