Multiplicity of charged particles in 800 GeV p-p interactions

Results are reported concerning the charged-particle multiplicity distribution obtained in an exposure of the high-resolution hydrogen bubble chamber LEBC to a beam of 800 GeV protons at the Fermilab MPS. This is the first time that such data have been available at this energy. The distribution of the number nch of charged particles produced in inelastic interactions obeys KNO-scaling. The average multiplicity is 〈nch〉 = 10.26±0.15. For nch≥8 the data can be well fitted to a negative binomial. The difference between the overall experimental multiplicity distribution and that resulting from the latter fit is in agreement with the contribution expected from diffractive processes. © 1986.0SCOPUS: ar.j