\Lambda_{c} enhancement from strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma

Abstract

We propose the enhancement of ${\Lambda }_c$ as a novel QGP signal in heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC. Assuming a stable bound diquark state in the strongly coupled QGP near the critical temperature, we argue that the direct two-body collision between a $c$ quark and a $[ud]$ diquark would lead to an enhanced ${\Lambda }_c$ production in comparison with the normal three-body collision among independent $c$, $u$ and $d$ quarks. In the coalescence model, we find that the ${\Lambda }_c/D$ yield ratio is enhanced substantially due to the diquark correlation.