Statistical hadronization: successes and some open issues

TL;DR

The statistical hadronization model effectively describes hadron production across various energies, offering insights into QCD phase structure, but still faces unresolved issues.

Contribution

This paper reviews successes of the statistical hadronization model and discusses open questions in understanding QCD phase structure.

Findings

Model accurately describes hadron yields across energies

Recent findings shed light on QCD phase transitions

Open issues remain in the theoretical understanding

Abstract

Hadron production in relativistic nuclear collisions is well described in the framework of the statistical hadronization model, over a broad range of collision energies. We outline this for hadrons composed of light (u, d, s) and heavy (charm and beauty) quarks, discuss recent findings relevant for understanding the phase structure of QCD and formulate some open issues.