Consequences of temperature fluctuations in observables measured in high-energy collisions

Abstract

We review the consequences of intrinsic, nonstatistical temperature fluctuations as seen in observables measured in high-energy collisions. We do this from the point of view of nonextensive statistics and Tsallis distributions. Particular attention is paid to multiplicity fluctuations as a first consequence of temperature fluctuations, to the equivalence of temperature and volume fluctuations, to the generalized thermodynamic fluctuations relations allowing us to compare fluctuations observed in different parts of the phase space, and to the problem of the relation between Tsallis entropy and Tsallis distributions. We also discuss the possible influence of conservation laws on these distributions and provide some examples of how one can get them without considering temperature fluctuations. © The Author(s) 2012.