Strangeness and Quark--Gluon Plasma

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.Comment: Jubilee Lecture at SQM2011 in Krakow, Poland to appear in Acta Physica Polonica

Strangeness and Statistical Hadronization: How to Study Quark-Gluon Plasma

Statistical hadronization is presented as mechanism for (strange) particle production from a deconfined quark--gluon plasma (QGP) fireball. We first consider hadronic resonance production at RHIC as a test of the model. We present in detail how the hadrochemistry determines particle multiplicities and in case of sudden hadronization allows investigation of QGP properties. A comparative study of strange hadron production at SPS and RHIC is presented. The energy dependence of physical observables shows regularities and a potential discontinuity in the low RHIC range, when comparing these different energy domains. Considering the energy scan program at CERN-SPS we show that the K^+/\pi^+ discontinuity is a baryon density effect.Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures, presented at the Cracow School of Theoretical Physics, Zakopane, May 30 - June 8, 200

Strangeness in QGP: Hadronization Pressure

We review strangeness as signature of quark gluon plasma (QGP) and the hadronization process of a QGP fireball formed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions in the entire range of today accessible reaction energies. We discuss energy dependence of the statistical hadronization parameters within the context of fast QGP hadronization. We find that QGP breakup occurs for all energies at the universal hadronization pressure $P = 80\pm 3\,\mathrm{MeV/fm}^3$.Comment: 14 pages, one picture, 10 figures, Talk presented at the XXXI Max Born Symposium and HIC for FAIR Workshop "Three Days of Critical Behavior in Hot and Dense QCD", Wroclaw, Poland, June~14-16, 2013. Acta Physica Polonica B: Conference Series in pres

Planetary Impacts by Clustered Quark Matter Strangelets

We propose a model of clustered u-d-s quark matter that leads to stable bulk strange quark matter. We discuss qualitatively consequences of impacts by sub-planetary mass strangelets on rocky solar system bodies.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, SQM 2011 Proceeding

Dynamics of Multiparticle Systems with non - Abelian Symmetry

We consider the dynamics governing the evolution of a many body system constrained by an nonabelian local symmetry. We obtain explicit forms of the global macroscopic condition assuring that at the microscopic level the evolution respects the overall symmetry constraint. We demonstrate the constraint mechanisms for the case of SU(2) system comprising particles in fundamental, and adjoint representations (`nucleons' and `pions').Comment: Minor claryfying correstions and improving of references were done. Accepted for publication in EPJ

Strangeness Production in Au--Au collisions at sNN=62.4\sqrt{s_{NN}}=62.4 GeV

We obtain strangeness production as function of centrality in a statistical hadronization model analysis of all experimental hadron production data in Au--Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}}=62.4\GeV. Our analysis describes successfully the yield of strange and multi-strange hadrons recently published. We explore condition of hadronization as a function of centrality and find universality for the case of chemical non-equilibrium in the hadron phase space corresponding to quark--gluon plasma (QGP) in chemical equilibrium.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, proceedings for SQM 2011 conferenc

Nonlinear Electromagnetic Forces in Astrophysics

Electromagnetism becomes a nonlinear theory having (effective) photon-photon interactions due at least to electron-positron fluctuations in the vacuum. We discuss the consequences of the nonlinearity for the force felt by a charge probe particle, and compare the impact of Euler-Kockel QED effective nonlinearity to the possibility of Born-Infeld-type nonlinearity.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, Acta Phys Pol B style, presented by LL at 52 Krakow School of Theoretical Physics: Astroparticle Physics in the LHC Era, Zakopane, May 19-27, 201