We present the charged-particle pseudorapidity density in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\,\mathrm{Te\kern-.25exV}$ in centrality classes measured by ALICE. The measurement covers a wide pseudorapidity range from $-3.5$ to $5$, which is sufficient for reliable estimates of the total number of charged particles produced in the collisions. For the most central (0-5%) collisions we find $21\,400\pm 1\,300$ while for the most peripheral (80-90%) we find $230\pm 38$. This corresponds to an increase of $(27\pm4)\%$ over the results at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=2.76\,\mathrm{Te\kern-.25exV}$ previously reported by ALICE. The energy dependence of the total number of charged particles produced in heavy-ion collisions is found to obey a modified power-law like behaviour. The charged-particle pseudorapidity density of the most central collisions is compared to model calculations --- none of which fully describes the measured distribution. We also present an estimate of the rapidity density of charged particles. The width of that distribution is found to exhibit a remarkable proportionality to the beam rapidity, independent of the collision energy from the top SPS to LHC energies.
Charged-particle pseudorapidity density for ten centrality classes over a broad $\eta$ range in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}=5.02\,\mathrm{TeV}$. Boxes around the points reflect the total uncorrelated systematic uncertainties, while the filled squares on the right reflect the correlated systematic uncertainty (evaluated at $\eta=0$). Statistical errors are generally insignificant and smaller than the markers. Also shown is the reflection of the $3.5<\eta<5$ values around $\eta=0$ (open circles). The line corresponds to fits of the difference between two Gaussians centred at $\eta=0$ ($f_{\text{GG}}$) [PLB754.373] to the data.
Charged-particle pseudorapidity density at midrapidity in most perihperhal (80-90%) Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\scriptscriptstyle\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\,\mathrm{TeV}$.
Total number of charged particles as a function of the mean number of participating nucleons [PRC88.044909]. The total charged-particle multiplicity is given as the integral over $\mathrm{d}N_{\mathrm{ch}}/\mathrm{d}\eta$ over the measured region ($-3.5<\eta<5$) and extrapolations from fitted functions in the unmeasured regions. The contribution from unmeasured $\eta$ regions amounts to $\approx30\%$ of the total number of charged particles. The uncertainty on the extrapolation to the unmeasured pseudorapidity region is smaller than the size of the markers. The contribution to the systematic uncertainties from the centrality determination and electromagnetic processes are vanishing compared to the contribution from the largest differences between the fitted functions. A function inspired by factorisation [PRC83.024913] is fitted to the data, and the best fit yields $a=51.5\pm7.3$, $b=0.16\pm0.05$.
We present the first wide-range measurement of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density distribution, for different centralities (the 0-5%, 5-10%, 10-20%, and 20-30% most central events) in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed using the full coverage of the ALICE detectors, $-5.0 < \eta < 5.5$, and employing a special analysis technique based on collisions arising from LHC "satellite" bunches. We present the pseudorapidity density as a function of the number of participating nucleons as well as an extrapolation to the total number of produced charged particles ($N_{\rm ch} = 17165 \pm 772$ for the 0-5% most central collisions). From the measured ${\rm d}N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d}\eta$ distribution we derive the rapidity density distribution, ${\rm d}N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d}y$, under simple assumptions. The rapidity density distribution is found to be significantly wider than the predictions of the Landau model. We assess the validity of longitudinal scaling by comparing to lower energy results from RHIC. Finally the mechanisms of the underlying particle production are discussed based on a comparison with various theoretical models.
$\rm dN_{ch}/d\eta$ versus $\eta$ for different centralities. Errors are systematic as statistical errors are negligible.
Total number of produced charged particles extrapolated to beam rapidity as a function of the number of participating nucleons in the collision. Statistical errors are negligible. The first(sys) error is the correlated systematic error and the second is that which is uncorrelated to the other points.
$\rm dN_{ch}/d\eta$ per participant pair versus the number of participating nucleons in the collision for different eta ranges. Errors are systematic as statistical errors are negligible.
Forum