Unified description of multiplicity distributions and Bose–Einstein correlations at the LHC based on the three-negative binomial distribution

Abstract

Using the Monte Carlo data at 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS collaboration (PYTHIA 6), we examine the necessity of applying the three-negative binomial distribution (T-NBD). By making use of the T-NBD formulation, we analyze the multiplicity distribution (MD) and the Bose–Einstein correlation (BEC) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the T-NBD framework, the BEC is expressed by two degrees of coherence [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] and two kinds of exchange functions [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] that act over interaction ranges [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. Using the calculated [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] based on the T-NBD, along with free [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], we analyze the BEC data at 0.9 and 7 TeV. The estimated parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are almost coincident and seem to be consistent with [Formula: see text] collisions. We also present an enlarged Koba–Nielsen–Olesen (KNO) scaling function based on the T-NBD, and apply it to KNO scaling at LHC energies. The enlarged scaling function describes the observed violation of the KNO scaling.