Polarization and strangeness production at LHCb

Strange hadron production is an important probe of hadronization in hadron collisions. Thanks to its forward geometry, precise vertex reconstruction and particle identification capabilities, the LHCb detector is ideally suited to study strangeness production in an unexplored kinematic regime. In addition, the SMOG system allows the study of strangeness production and polarization in the highest energy fixed-target collisions ever produced in a laboratory. This is even more relevant now since recent studies have linked the polarization of hyperons to the process of hadronization, and the origin of hyperon polarization from unpolarized proton-proton and proton-nucleus collisions is not yet fully understood. We present recent LHCb measurements of hyperon polarization in fixed-target 𝑝Ne collisions, as well as of strangeness enhancement in charm hadron production in 𝑝Pb beam-beam collisions. We also discuss their implications for Transverse Momentum Dependent parton-distributions and fragmentation functions as well as hadronization modification in small collision systems.