Strange particle effective temperatures in relativistic nuclear collisions

Abstract

The energy dependence of the effective temperatures of charged kaons, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] produced in Au[Formula: see text]Au collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Beam Energy Scan (BES) energies are presented. At energies around [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GeV, there is a sudden change in the energy dependence of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] effective temperatures, while at higher energies a slower, continuous rise up to [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]TeV is observed. This behavior is similar with previous SPS results and could indicate the onset of deconfinement in this energy range. The [Formula: see text] effective temperatures increase with energy and no plateau-like behavior is evidenced by the data.