Hadron production from resonance decay in relativistic collisions

Abstract

A statistical model for decay and formation of heavy hadronic resonances is formulated. The resonance properties become increasingly uncertain with increasing resonance mass. Drawing on analogy with the situation in low-energy nuclear physics, we employ the Weisskopf approach to the resonance processes. In the large-mass limit, the density of resonance states in mass is governed by a universal Hagedorn-like temperature T_H. As resonances decay, progressively more and more numerous lighter states get populated. For T_H \simeq 170 MeV, the model describes data for the hadron yield ratios at the RHIC and SPS energies under the extreme assumption of a single heavy resonance giving rise to measured yields.