Figure 1

(Color online) Top panel: Strangeness density $\mathit{ds}/\mathit{dV}[{\mathrm{fm}}^{-3}]$; middle panel: Geometrically reduced hadronization volume $\mathit{dV}/\mathit{dy}/A^{2/3}[{\mathrm{fm}}^{-3}]$; bottom panel: Ratio of light quark to strange quark density $q/s$ as a function of A. Solid lines denote chemical nonequilibrium, chained lines denote chemical semi-equilibrium, and dashed lines denote chemical equilibrium.Reuse & Permissions

Figure 2

(Color online) The predicted hyperon (blue) and, in same panel directly below, antihyperon (red) yields. The rapidity yields are shown as a function of both $d{\pi }^{-}/\mathit{dy}$ (bottom scale) and ${\mathit{dh}}^{-}/\mathit{dy}$ (top scale) for $\sqrt{s_{\mathit{NN}}}=200$ GeV Au-Au reactions. Solid lines denote chemical nonequilibrium, and dashed lines denote chemical equilibrium. The experimental results (square symbols for hyperons and triangles for antihyperons) are from $\sqrt{s_{\mathit{NN}}}=130$ GeV Au-Au reactions, presented here for reader orientation.Reuse & Permissions

Figure 3

(Color online) The yields of hyperons (blue) and antihyperons (red): $\Lambda ,\overline{\Lambda }$ (top), ${\Xi }^{-},{\overline{\Xi }}^{+}$ (middle), and ${\Omega }^{-},{\overline{\Omega }}^{+}$ (bottom) normalized with ${\pi }^{-}$ yield, as a function of $d{\pi }^{-}/\mathit{dy}$ yield. The lines are as in Fig. 2.Reuse & Permissions

Figure 4

(Color online) $\sqrt{s_{\mathit{NN}}}=200$ GeV yields of hyperons $d\Lambda /\mathit{dy}$ and $d{\Xi }^{-}/\mathit{dy}$ (left) and antihyperons $d\overline{\Lambda }/\mathit{dy}$ and $d{\overline{\Xi }}^{+}/\mathit{dy}$ (right) normalized with, and as function of, A, relative to these yields in pp reactions. The lines are as in Fig. 1.Reuse & Permissions