Strangeness enhancement in heavy-ion collisions is studied at the parton level by examining the partition of the new sea quarks generated by gluon conversion into the strange and non-strange sectors. The CTEQ parton distribution functions are used as a baseline for the quiescent sea before gluon conversion. By quark counting simple constraints are placed on the hadron yields in different channels. The experimental values of particle ratios are fitted to determine the strangeness enhancement factor. A quantitative measure of Pauli blocking is determined. Energy dependence between CERN-SPS and relativistic heavy-ion collider energies is well described. No thermal equilibrium or statistical model is assumed.

• Received 3 June 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.66.064903