Centrality dependence of thermal freeze-out conditions at LHC in Pb+Pb collisions at sNN = 2.76TeV

Abstract

We have analyzed the available midrapidity [Formula: see text] transverse momentum spectra of identified particles such as protons [Formula: see text], kaons [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] for different centralities of Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC energy [Formula: see text]. We have used our earlier proposed unified statistical thermal freeze-out model. The model incorporates the effect of nuclear transparency in such energetic collisions and the resulting asymmetry in the collective-flow profile along the longitudinal and the transverse directions. Our calculated results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data measured by the ALICE experiment. The model calculation fits the experimental data for different particle species which provide thermal freeze-out conditions in terms of temperature and collective-flow parameters. The analysis shows a rise in the thermal freeze-out temperature and a mild decrease in the transverse collective-flow velocity as we go from central to the peripheral collisions. The baryon chemical potential is assumed to be nearly zero for the bulk of the matter [Formula: see text], a situation expected in the heavy ion collisions at LHC energies in the Bjorken approach owing to nearly complete nuclear transparency. The contributions from the decay of the heavier resonances are also taken into account in our calculations.