Transverse mass spectra of strange and multiply—strange particles in Pb—Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c Original Research Article

The WA97 experiment has measured the transverse mass (mT) spectra for negative hadrons (h−) and strange particles produced at mid-rapidity in Pb−Pb collisions. The increased statistics of analysed data samples allowed us to perform a study of the spectra of K0S, Λ, Ξ, Ω and h− as a function of the centrality of the collisions. The data, which correspond to the most central 40% of the total inelastic cross section, have been divided into four centrality classes according to the estimated number of nucleons taking part in the collision. The mT spectra, analysed separately for each centrality bin, exhibit only weak (≤ 15%) centrality dependence. The deviation of the Ω inverse slope from the linear dependence on the particle mass is confirmed even for the most central Pb−Pb collisions.