SMASH: results from hadronic transport for heavy-ion collisions at high densities

Abstract This mini-review summarizes the general setup and some highlight results from the hadronic transport approach SMASH (Simulating Many Accelerated Strongly-interacting Hadrons). We start by laying out the software development structures as well as the particle properties and how they are determined by elementary collisions. The different ways to produce light clusters in SMASH, either by coalescence or dynamic multiparticle reactions, are explained. The constraints on nuclear mean fields and the corresponding equation of state from collective flow observables are discussed. In addition, we show how fluctuations associated with a potential critical end point survive through the hadronic rescattering stage. Besides hadronic observables, electromagnetic probes offer good possibilities to study the properties of matter. We present results on collisional broadening of resonances and elliptic flow of dileptons. Last but not least, we review how SMASH can be employed as part of a hybrid approach including a Bayesian analysis for transport coefficients as a function of temperature and chemical potential. We end with an outlook how the hybrid approach has been recently extended to lower collision energies by dynamical fluidization initial conditions.