Quark counting rules derived from recombination models agree well with data
on hadron production at intermediate transverse momenta in relativistic
heavy-ion collisions. They convey a simple picture of hadrons consisting only
of valence quarks. We discuss the inclusion of higher Fock states that add sea
quarks and gluons to the hadron structure. We show that, when recombination
occurs from a thermal medium, hadron spectra remain unaffected by the inclusion
of higher Fock states. However, the quark number scaling for elliptic flow is
somewhat affected. We discuss the implications for our understanding of data
from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure