Comparison of hadronic rescattering calculations of elliptic flow and HBT with measurements from RHIC

Abstract

Results from the data obtained in the first physics run of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have shown surprisingly large elliptic flow and suprisingly small HBT radii. Attempts to explain both results in a consistant picture have so far been unsuccessful. The present work shows that a simple thermal-like initial state model coupled to a hadronic rescattering calculation can explain reasonably well both elliptic flow and HBT results from RHIC. The calculation suggests a very early hadronization time of about 1 fm/c after the initial collision of the nuclei.