Gluon saturation in $pA$ collisions at the LHC: KLN model predictions for hadron multiplicities

TL;DR

This paper uses the KLN model to predict hadron multiplicities in p+Pb collisions at the LHC, aiming to test gluon saturation effects at very small Bjorken x values.

Contribution

It provides specific predictions for hadron multiplicities in p+Pb collisions at 4.4 TeV using the KLN saturation model, comparing with existing data.

Findings

Predicted hadron multiplicities at LHC energies.

Comparison of model predictions with RHIC and LHC data.

Insights into gluon saturation effects at small x.

Abstract

The upcoming p+Pb run at the LHC will probe the nuclear gluon distribution at very small Bjorken x (from $x \sim 10^{-4}$ at mid-rapidity down to $x \sim 10^{-6}$ in the proton fragmentation region) and will allow to test approaches based on parton saturation. Here, we present the predictions of the KLN model for hadron multiplicities and multiplicity distributions in p+Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 4.4 TeV. We also compare the model to the existing pp, dA and AA data from RHIC and LHC.