Measurements are presented of $K~0$ meson and $\Lambda$ baryon production in deep-inelastic positron-proton scattering (DIS) in the kinematic range $10 < Q~2 < 70\,$GeV$~2$ and $10~{-4} < x < 10~{-2}$. The measurements, obtained using the H1 detector at the HERA collider, are discussed in the light of possible mechanisms for increased strangeness production at low Bjorken-$x$. Comparisons of the $x_F$ spectra, where $x_F$ is the fractional longitudinal momentum in the hadronic centre-of-mass frame, with results from electron-positron annihilation are made. The $x_F$ spectra and the $K~0$ ``seagull'' plot are compared with previous DIS results. The mean $K~0$ and $\Lambda$ multiplicities are studied as a function of the centre-of-mass energy $W$ and are observed to be consistent with a logarithmic increase with $W$ when compared with previous measurements. A comparison of the levels of strangeness production in diffractive and non-diffractive DIS is made. An upper limit of $0.9\,$nb, at the $95\%$ confidence level, is placed on the cross-section for QCD instanton induced events.

We present results on strange and multi-strange particle production in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=62.4$ GeV as measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. Mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra and integrated yields of $K^{0}_{S}$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi$, $\Omega$ and their anti-particles are presented for different centrality classes. The particle yields and ratios follow a smooth energy dependence. Chemical freeze-out parameters, temperature, baryon chemical potential and strangeness saturation factor obtained from the particle yields are presented. Intermediate transverse momentum ($p_T$) phenomena are discussed based on the ratio of the measured baryon-to-meson spectra and nuclear modification factor. The centrality dependence of various measurements presented show a similar behavior as seen in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV.

The production of neutral strange hadrons is investigated using deep-inelastic scattering events measured with the H1 detector at HERA. The measurements are made in the phase space defined by the negative four-momentum transfer squared of the photon 2 &lt; Q^2 &lt; 100 GeV^2 and the inelasticity 0.1 &lt; y &lt; 0.6. The K_s and Lambda production cross sections and their ratios are determined. K_s production is compared to the production of charged particles in the same region of phase space. The Lambda - anti-Lambda asymmetry is also measured and found to be consistent with zero. Predictions of leading order Monte Carlo programs are compared to the data.

We present a measurement of the transverse single-spin asymmetry for $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons in $p^\uparrow$ $+$ $p$ collisions in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta|<0.35$ and at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. In comparison with previous measurements in this kinematic region, these results have a factor of 3 smaller uncertainties. As hadrons, $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ mesons are sensitive to both initial- and final-state nonperturbative effects for a mix of parton flavors. Comparisons of the differences in their transverse single-spin asymmetries have the potential to disentangle the possible effects of strangeness, isospin, or mass. These results can constrain the twist-3 trigluon collinear correlation function as well as the gluon Sivers function.

We report on the first measurement of charm-strange meson $D_s^{\pm}$ production at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 200 GeV from the STAR experiment. The yield ratio between strange ($D_{s}^{\pm}$) and non-strange ($D^{0}$) open-charm mesons is presented and compared to model calculations. A significant enhancement, relative to a PYTHIA simulation of $p$+$p$ collisions, is observed in the $D_{s}^{\pm}/D^0$ yield ratio in Au+Au collisions over a large range of collision centralities. Model calculations incorporating abundant strange-quark production in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and coalescence hadronization qualitatively reproduce the data. The transverse-momentum integrated yield ratio of $D_{s}^{\pm}/D^0$ at midrapidity is consistent with a prediction from a statistical hadronization model with the parameters constrained by the yields of light and strange hadrons measured at the same collision energy. These results suggest that the coalescence of charm quarks with strange quarks in the QGP plays an important role in $D_{s}^{\pm}$ meson production in heavy-ion collisions.

Fluctuations of conserved quantities such as baryon number, charge, and strangeness are sensitive to the correlation length of the hot and dense matter created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and can be used to search for the QCD critical point. We report the first measurements of the moments of net-kaon multiplicity distributions in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 7.7, 11.5, 14.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, and 200 GeV. The collision centrality and energy dependence of the mean ($M$), variance ($\sigma^2$), skewness ($S$), and kurtosis ($\kappa$) for net-kaon multiplicity distributions as well as the ratio $\sigma^2/M$ and the products $S\sigma$ and $\kappa\sigma^2$ are presented. Comparisons are made with Poisson and negative binomial baseline calculations as well as with UrQMD, a transport model (UrQMD) that does not include effects from the QCD critical point. Within current uncertainties, the net-kaon cumulant ratios appear to be monotonic as a function of collision energy.

The first measurement of inclusive Ds+- photoproduction at HERA has been performed with the ZEUS detector for photon-proton centre-of-mass energies 130 < W < 280 GeV. The measured cross section for 3 < pt(Ds) < 12 GeV and |eta(Ds)|< 1.5 is sigma(ep -> Ds X) = 3.79 +- 0.59 (stat.) +0.26-0.46 (syst.) +- 0.94 (br.) nb, where the last error arises from the uncertainty in the Ds decay branching ratio. The measurements are compared with inclusive D*+- photoproduction cross sections in the same kinematic region and with QCD calculations. The Ds cross sections lie above a fixed-order next-to-leading order calculation and agree better with a tree-level O(alpha,alpha_s^3) calculation that was tuned to describe the ZEUS D* cross sections. The ratio of Ds+- to D*+- cross sections is 0.41 +- 0.07 (stat.) +0.03-0.05 (syst.) +- 0.10 (br.). From this ratio, the strangeness-suppression factor in charm photoproduction, within the LUND string fragmentation model, has been calculated to be gamma_s = 0.27 +- 0.05 +- 0.07 (br.). The cross-section ratio and gamma_s are in good agreement with those obtained in charm production in e+e- annihilation.

According to the CPT theorem, which states that the combined operation of charge conjugation, parity transformation and time reversal must be conserved, particles and their antiparticles should have the same mass and lifetime but opposite charge and magnetic moment. Here, we test CPT symmetry in a nucleus containing a strange quark, more specifically in the hypertriton. This hypernucleus is the lightest one yet discovered and consists of a proton, a neutron, and a $\Lambda$ hyperon. With data recorded by the STAR detector{\cite{TPC,HFT,TOF}} at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, we measure the $\Lambda$ hyperon binding energy $B_{\Lambda}$ for the hypertriton, and find that it differs from the widely used value{\cite{B_1973}} and from predictions{\cite{2019_weak, 1995_weak, 2002_weak, 2014_weak}}, where the hypertriton is treated as a weakly bound system. Our results place stringent constraints on the hyperon-nucleon interaction{\cite{Hammer2002, STAR-antiH3L}}, and have implications for understanding neutron star interiors, where strange matter may be present{\cite{Chatterjee2016}}. A precise comparison of the masses of the hypertriton and the antihypertriton allows us to test CPT symmetry in a nucleus with strangeness for the first time, and we observe no deviation from the expected exact symmetry.

Small nuclear collisions are mainly sensitive to cold-nuclear-matter effects; however, the collective behavior observed in these collisions shows a hint of hot-nuclear-matter effects. The identified-particle spectra, especially the $\phi$ mesons which contain strange and antistrange quarks and have a relatively small hadronic-interaction cross section, are a good tool to study these effects. The PHENIX experiment has measured $\phi$ mesons in a specific set of small collision systems $p$$+$Al, $p$$+$Au, and $^3$He$+$Au, as well as $d$$+$Au [Phys. Rev. C {\bf 83}, 024909 (2011)], at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. The transverse-momentum spectra and nuclear-modification factors are presented and compared to theoretical-model predictions. The comparisons with different calculations suggest that quark-gluon plasma may be formed in these small collision systems at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. However, the volume and the lifetime of the produced medium may be insufficient for observing strangeness-enhancement and jet-quenching effects. Comparison with calculations suggests that the main production mechanisms of $\phi$ mesons at midrapidity may be different in $p$$+$Al versus $p/d/$$^3$He$+$Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}=200$ GeV. While thermal quark recombination seems to dominate in $p/d/$$^3$He$+$Au collisions, fragmentation seems to be the main production mechanism in $p$$+$Al collisions.

Charged particles ($h^\pm$) and \kz mesons have been studied in photoproduced events containing at least one jet of $E_T > 8$ GeV in a pseudorapidity interval (--0.5, 0.5) in the ZEUS laboratory frame. Distributions are presented in terms of transverse momentum, pseudorapidity and distance of the particle from the axis of a jet. The properties of \hpm within the jet are described well using the standard settings of PYTHIA, but the use of the multiparton interaction option improves the description outside the jets. A reasonable overall description of the \kz behaviour is possible with PYTHIA using a reduced value of the strangeness suppression parameter. The numbers of $h^\pm$ and \kz within a jet as defined above are measured to be $3.25\pm0.02\pm0.28$ and $0.431\pm0.013\pm0.088$ respectively. Fragmentation functions are presented for $h^\pm$ and \kz in photoproduced jets; agreement is found with calculations of Binnewies et al. and, at higher momenta, with $p\bar p$ scattering and with standard PYTHIA. Fragmentation functions in direct photoproduced events are extracted, and at higher momenta give good agreement with data from related processes in $e^+e^-$ annihilation and deep inelastic $ep$ scattering.