Intriguing feature of multiplicity distributions

Abstract

Multiplicity distributions, P(N), provide valuable information on the mechanism of the production process. We argue that the observed P(N) contain more information (located in the small N region) than expected and used so far. We demonstrate that it can be retrieved by analysing specific combinations of the experimentally measured values of P(N) which we call modified combinants, Cj, and which show distinct oscillatory behavior, not observed in the usual phenomenological forms of the P(N) used to fit data. We discuss the possible sources of these oscillations and their impact on our understanding of the multiparticle production mechanism.