Strangeness and Quark--Gluon Plasma

Jan Rafelski

Published 2011-12-21Version 1

I review the foundational motivation which led us to the ultra relativistic heavy ion collision research at SPS, RHIC and now LHC: the quantum vacuum structure; the deconfined nature of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) phase filling the Universe for the first 30$\mu$s after the big-bang; the origin of stable matter mass; and of the origin of flavor. The special role of strangeness enhancement and strange antibaryon signature is highlighted. It is shown how hadron production can be used to determine the properties of QGP, and how the threshold energy for QGP formation is determined.