Speaker
Description
The production of strange hadrons in high-energy collisions provides insight into hadronization, parton fragmentation, and nuclear effects. While strangeness enhancement has been linked to quark-gluon plasma formation in heavy-ion collisions, recent observations in small systems challenge conventional hadronization models. In this context, proton–nucleus measurements further probe the influence of the nuclear environment, including cold nuclear matter effects and nuclear modifications. To shed light on this complex scenario, the LHCb detector, with its unique forward acceptance and excellent particle identification, enables detailed studies of strangeness production in pp and pPb collisions over a unique kinematic range. New results on strange hadron production will be presented, providing new constraints on hadronization dynamics and nuclear effects in small systems.