Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2013) 128: 45
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2013-13045-9

Regular Article

Wounded quarks and multiplicity at relativistic ion colliders

Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, 221005, Varanasi, India

^* e-mail: ashwini.physics@gmail.com

Received: 4 October 2012
Revised: 10 February 2013
Accepted: 8 April 2013
Published online: 25 April 2013

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a parameterization which is based on a phenomenological model involving the wounded quarks interactions for explaining the average charged particle multiplicity 〈n _ch 〉, the central pseudo-rapidity density 〈(dn/dη)_η=0〉 and the complete rapidity dependence of dn/dη in relativistic heavy-ion collider experiments. The model also interrelates nucleus-nucleus (A-A collisions with p-A and p-p interactions. Our parameterization rests on simple assumptions regarding the mean number of participating quarks and their average number of collisions. The results for 〈n _ch 〉 and their variations with the mass number of colliding nuclei, center-of-mass energy (√s _NN ) and collision centrality are well supported by the available experimental data. Finally we give the predictions from our model for A-A collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiments. Our results indicate the existence of a possible universal production mechanism for p-p, p -A and A-A collisions.