Speaker
Description
The new sPHENIX collider detector experiment features a unique tracking system capable of streaming readout, enabling the collection of very large, unbiased p+p datasets previously not available at RHIC. sPHENIX recorded over 10 pb$^{-1}$ of p+p collisions at 200 GeV in this readout scheme. Using these datasets, new measurements of the transverse-momentum and multiplicity dependence of strange light hadrons can yield key insights about the onset of QGP formation. As the strange quark mass is below the critical temperature, they can be thermally produced inside the QGP. By measuring the relative production of $Λ^0$ baryons to $K^0_S$ mesons in p+p collisions, a key baseline measurement is performed that, when compared to later open heavy flavor measurements in collision systems such as Au+Au and O+O, will enable sPHENIX to make quantitative statements on hadronization mechanisms such as co-mover effects and color reconnection at RHIC energies. Furthermore, such measurements can be used as a data-driven determination of the sPHENIX tracking efficiency map, such as by comparing the production rates of neutral and charged kaons in specific kinematic regions.
| Is this an experimental talk? | Yes |
|---|---|
| Is this on behalf of a collaboration? | Yes |
| Which collaboration? | sPHENIX Collaboration |
| Are you willing to present as a poster if it is not selected for oral presentation? | Yes |