A three-component description of multiplicity distributions in pp collisions at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper analyzes proton-proton collision data at the LHC using a three-component model of negative binomial distributions, revealing a narrow low-multiplicity peak and invariant features that suggest potential new phenomena in high-energy particle production.

Contribution

It introduces a three-component negative binomial distribution model to describe multiplicity distributions in pp collisions, highlighting a distinct low-multiplicity peak and invariant properties.

Findings

Identification of a narrow peak at low multiplicities.

Approximate energy and pseudorapidity invariance of the third component.

Potential indication of new phenomena in high-energy collisions.

Abstract

A possible signal of new phenomena emerging in the global characteristics of multiparticle production in hadron interactions at TeV energies is studied. The multiplicity distributions of charged particles measured in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN are analyzed in the phenomenological framework of the weighted superposition of three negative binomial distribution functions. The examination of the experimental data indicates the existence of a narrow peak at low multiplicities which can be described by a separate component in the total distribution. The multiplicity characteristics of the third component reveal approximate energy and pseudorapidity invariance, of which a physical explanation represents a challenging problem in high energy multiple particle production.