Equation of State of Nuclear Matter in 158AGeVPb+Pb Collisions

Within a hydrodynamical approach we investigate the sensitivity of single inclusive momentum spectra of hadrons in 158AGeV Pb+Pb collisions to three different equations of state of nuclear matter. The initial conditions before the evolution of the fireballs and the space-time evolution pictures differ dramatically for the three equations of state when the same freeze-out temperature is used in all calculations. However, the softest of the equations of state results in transverse mass spectra that are too steep in the central rapidity region. We conclude that the transverse particle momenta are determined by the effective softness of the equation of state during the fireball expansion.