Constraining relativistic models through heavy ion collisions

TL;DR

This paper reviews how relativistic models are used in nuclear astrophysics and heavy ion collisions, emphasizing the importance of constraints for model selection and comparing particle production predictions at RHIC.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of constraints on relativistic models and compares particle yield predictions in heavy ion collisions using different models.

Findings

Constraints help select appropriate relativistic models for hot hadronic matter.

Different models produce varying predictions for particle yields in Au+Au collisions.

The study highlights the importance of model validation against experimental data.

Abstract

Relativistic models can be successfully applied to the description of compact star properties in nuclear astrophysics as well as to nuclear matter and finite nuclei properties, these studies taking place at low and moderate temperatures. Nevertheless, all results are model dependent and so far it is unclear whether some of them should be discarded. Moreover, in the regime of hot hadronic matter very few calculations exist using these relativistic models, in particular when applied to particle yields in heavy ion collisions. In the present work we comment on the known constraints that can help the selection of adequate models in this regime and investigate the main differences that arise when the particle production during a Au+Au collision at RHIC is calculated with different models.