Exploring high-multiplicity events in high-energy proton-proton collisions

TL;DR

This paper investigates high-multiplicity events in proton-proton collisions at high energies, exploring whether initial-state effects like the Color Glass Condensate can be identified through isolated photon production, which is unaffected by final-state effects.

Contribution

It proposes using isolated photon production within the CGC framework to distinguish initial-state effects in high-multiplicity proton-proton collisions.

Findings

High multiplicity events may be driven by initial-state effects.

Isolated photon production can serve as a probe for the CGC state.

Differentiating effects helps understand particle production mechanisms.

Abstract

It is known that the proton is overpopulated by gluons and is characterized as a highly dense medium at high collision energies. From this, the formation of a new state of matter called Color Glass Condensate (CGC) is expected, and an open question is whether the nonlinear effects predicted by this state are identifiable at the LHC. The multiplicity of particles produced in a hadronic collision presents as a means to adequately investigate this problem. Currently, the description of the available data for different multiplicity regimes remains a challenge. Even though different experimental collaborations have identified that the production of certain final states, in $pp$ collisions, present a modification in the behavior of high multiplicity events in relation to the case of minimum bias we still lack a way to identify the nature of those high multiplicity events: are those driven by initial-state effects, final-state effects or a mix of both? We argue that a analyzing different particle production process that can be described CGC framework, in particular, isolated photon production which is not sensitive to final-state effects, may provide a path forward in answering this question.