Is strangeness still strange at the LHC?

Abstract

Strangeness production is calculated in a pQCD-based model (including nuclear effects) in the high transverse momentum sector, where pQCD is expected to work well. We investigate pion, kaon, proton and lambda production in pp and heavy-ion collisions. Parton energy loss in AA collisions is taken into account. We compare strange-to-non-strange meson and baryon ratios to data at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), and make predictions for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We find that these ratios significantly deviate from unity not only at RHIC but also at the LHC, indicating the special role of strangeness at both energies.