Equilibrium Statistical-Thermal Models in High-Energy Physics

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development and application of statistical-thermal models in high-energy physics, highlighting their success in describing particle yields, fluctuations, and lattice QCD thermodynamics over the past decade.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the historical evolution, theoretical foundations, and recent advancements of statistical-thermal models in heavy-ion physics and lattice QCD.

Findings

Evidence for chemical equilibrium in particle yields

Statistical models successfully reproduce lattice QCD thermodynamics

Universal conditions describe chemical freeze-out parameters

Abstract

We review some recent highlights from the applications of statistical-thermal models to different experimental measurements and lattice QCD thermodynamics, that have been made during the last decade. We start with a short review of the historical milestones on the path of constructing statistical-thermal models for heavy-ion physics. We discovered that Heinz Koppe formulated in 1948 an almost complete recipe for the statistical-thermal models. In 1950, Enrico Fermi generalized this statistical approach, in which he started with a general cross-section formula and inserted into it simplifying assumptions about the matrix element of the interaction process that likely reflects many features of the high-energy reactions dominated by density in the phase space of final states. In 1964, Hagedorn systematically analysed the high-energy phenomena using all tools of statistical physics and introduced the concept of limiting temperature based on the statistical bootstrap model. It turns to be quite often that many-particle systems can be studied with the help of statistical-thermal methods. The analysis of yield multiplicities in high-energy collisions gives an overwhelming evidence for the chemical equilibrium in the final state. The strange particles might be an exception, as they are suppressed at lower beam energies. However, their relative yields fulfill statistical equilibrium, as well. We review the equilibrium statistical-thermal models for particle production, fluctuations and collective flow in heavy-ion experiments. We also review their reproduction of the lattice QCD thermodynamics at vanishing and finite chemical potential. During the last decade, five conditions have been suggested to describe the universal behavior of the chemical freeze out parameters.