Strange particles and quark gluon plasma in nuclear collisions: current status

We report on the theoretical and experimental status of strange particles as of Spring 1989. Current experiments show anomalous enhancement of K/π, antiΛ/Λ ratios and Λ abundance at appropriate rapidities and high transverse energies, pointing to possible formation of quark-gluon plasma, but the evidence is still ambiguous, partly due to scarcity of data. Results for ratios of multistrange to nonstrange particles are urgently needed (as well as theoretical refinements on their production by conventional background processes). Strange particles remain a promising characteristic signal of quark-gluon plasma formation