The Origin of the Difference between Multiplicities in e+e- Annihilation and Heavy Ion Collisions

Multiplicities in e+e- annihilation and relativistic heavy ion collisions show remarkable similarities at high energies. A thermal-statistical model is proposed to explain the differences which occur mainly at low beam energies. Two different calculations are performed, one using an approximate thermodynamic relationship, the other using a full thermal model code. The results are in qualitative agreement, suggesting that the interplay of baryon density and temperature tends to systematically suppress the total multiplicity at lower beam energies.