A statistical model analysis of $K/\pi$ fluctuations in heavy ion collisions

Abstract

We briefly describe two statistical hadronization models, based respectively on the presence and absence of light quark chemical equilibrium, used to analyze particle yields in heavy ion collisions. We then try to distinguish between these models using $K/\pi$ fluctuations data. We find that while the non-equilibrium model provides an acceptable description of fluctuations at top SPS and RHIC energies, both models considerably under-estimate fluctuations at low SPS energies.