P o S ( C P O D 2 0 0 6 ) 0 2 7 Inhomogeneous freeze-out in relativistic heavy ion collisions

The decoupling surface in relativistic heavy-ion collisio ns may not be homogeneous. Rather, inhomogeneities should form when a rapid transition from hi gh to low entropy density occurs. We analyze the hadron "chemistry" from high-energy heavy-i on reactions for the presence of such density inhomogeneities. We show that due to the non-linear d pendence of the particle densities on the temperature and baryon-chemical potential such inho mogeneities should be visible even in the integrated, inclusive abundances. We analyze experi mental data from Pb+Pb collisions at CERN-SPS and Au+Au collisions at BNL-RHIC to determine the a mplitude of inhomogeneities and the role of local and global strangeness neutrality.