Near-Threshold Production of the Multistrange<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msup><mml:mi>Ξ</mml:mi><mml:mo>−</mml:mo></mml:msup></mml:math>Hyperon

The yield for the multistrange Xi(-) hyperon has been measured in 6A GeV Au+Au collisions via reconstruction of its decay products pi(-) and Lambda, the latter also being reconstructed from its daughter tracks of pi(-) and p. The measurement is rather close to the threshold for Xi(-) production and therefore provides an important test of model predictions. The measured yield for Xi(-) and Lambda are compared for several centralities. In central collisions the Xi(-) yield is found to be in excellent agreement with statistical and transport model predictions, suggesting that multistrange hadron production approaches chemical equilibrium in high baryon density nuclear matter.