https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2009-10803-9
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Power laws in elementary and heavy-ion collisions
A story of fluctuations and nonextensivity?
1
The Andrzej Sołtan Institute for Nuclear Studies, Hoża 69, 00-689, Warsaw, Poland
2
Institute of Physics, Jan Kochanowski University, Świetokrzyska 15, 25-406, Kielce, Poland
* e-mail: wilk@fuw.edu.pl
Received:
31
January
2009
Accepted:
15
February
2009
Published online:
26
May
2009
We review from the point of view of nonextensive statistics the ubiquitous presence in elementary and heavy-ion collisions of power law distributions. Special emphasis is placed on the conjecture that this is just a reflection of some intrinsic fluctuations existing in the hadronic systems considered. These systems are summarily described by a single parameter q playing the role of a nonextensivity measure in the nonextensive statistical models based on Tsallis entropy.
PACS: 89.75.-k Complex systems – / 24.60.-k Statistical theory and fluctuations – / 25.75.Dw Particle and resonance production – / 25.75.-q Relativistic heavy-ion collisions –
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2009
