We show that strangeness suppression in hadronic and nuclear collisions is fully determined by the initial energy density of the collision. The suppression factor $\gamma_s(s)$, with $\sqrt s$ denoting the collision energy, can be expressed as a universal function of the initial energy density $\epsilon_0(s)$, and the resulting pattern is in excellent agreement with data from $p-p,~p-Pb,~Cu-Cu,~Au-Au$ and $Pb-Pb$ data over a wide range of energies and for different centralities.
Categories: hep-ph nucl-th