Analysis of transverse momentum distributions of hadrons in gold–gold collisions at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msqrt> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>s</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msqrt> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>11.5</mml:mn>

Abstract This work provides an analysis of p T spectra for identified hadrons generated during gold–gold collisions at a center-of-mass energy ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msqrt> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>s</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:msqrt> </mml:math> ) of 11.5 GeV. The data, recorded by the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, is evaluated using predictions from phenomenological models. Specifically, we compare the outcomes of Monte Carlo simulations from Pythia 8.3 and EPOS (comprising EPOS4 and EPOSLHC) with experimental observations. Our investigation focuses on π ± , K ± , and (anti-)proton spectra measured at mid-rapidity (∣ y ∣ &lt; 0.1) across nine distinct centrality classes. In the case of π ± , EPOS4 model shows good agreement with the data only in the low p T region. However, it successfully reproduces the results across the entire p T range for the last three centrality classes for pions yields. In the case of K ± , EPOS4 exhibit good agreement with the experimental data. For proton and (anti-)proton, this model mostly underestimates in high- p T region, likely due to the reduced interaction volume and lower rescattering probability. In contrast, Pythia 8.3 often overpredicts pion yields and provides consistent representations for kaons and for (anti-)protons, Pythia 8.3 and EPOSLHC fails to describe the data. Pythia 8.3 mostly overestimates the data in the case of proton. EPOS4 demonstrates a good description of pion spectra compared to Pythia 8.3, largely attributable to its inclusion of hadronic rescattering effects. Meanwhile, EPOSLHC shows better alignment with experimental data in the case of kaons and proton for the entire p T range while for pions it also better reproduced the result at higher p T only. At higher p T , EPOSLHC exhibits a suppression relative to the experimental data, indicating limitations of the model description in a momentum region where collective flow effects are expected to be minimal. EPOS4 and EPOSLHC outperform Pythia 8.3, primarily due to their ability to incorporate correlated flow dynamics and hadronic rescattering effects. In contrast, Pythia 8.3 lacks these mechanisms, leading to less precise spectral descriptions. None of the models accurately replicate the experimental data for the (70–80)% centrality class likely due to the absence of collective effects and the increased role of non-equilibrium dynamics in these events. Additionally, the extracted freeze-out parameters indicate a rise in effective temperature and a decrease in the non-extensive parameter with increasing centrality. These trends suggest greater system excitation and more rapid thermal equilibration in highly central collisions.