A unified view of multiplicity distributions based on a pure birth process

Abstract

Various probability distributions which have been proposed to explain the charged particle multiplicity distributions in high energy collisions are shown to arise from the evolution equation of a pure birth process subject to appropriate initial conditions. For example, both the negative binomial distribution (NBD) as well as the partially coherent laser distribution (PCLD) can be obtained in this way. New interrelations between some of these probability distributions are also brought out.