The centrality dependence of transverse energy and charged particle multiplicity at RHIC: Statistical model analysis

The transverse energy and charged particle multiplicity at midrapidity and their ratio are evaluated in a statistical model with the longitudinal and transverse flows for different centrality bins at RHIC at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=130$ and 200 GeV. Full description of decays of hadron resonances is applied in these estimations. The predictions of the model at the freeze-out parameters, which were determined independently from measured particle yields and $p_{T}$ spectra, agree qualitatively well with the experimental data. The observed overestimation of the ratio can be explained for more central collisions by the redefinition of $dN_{ch}/d\eta|_{mid}$.Comment: Revtex, 8 figures (included), 11 pages. This is the final version accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J. A, only minor editorial changes are mad