A new empirical regularity for multiplicity distributions in place of KNO scaling

Abstract Charged particle multiplicity distributions for the inelastic, non-single-diffractive component of p p reactions at 540 GeV CMS energy and of pp reactions above about 10 GeV are shown to be remarkably well described by a negative binomial distribution at each energy. The two parameters of the distribution depend on energy in a regular manner, which affords the possibility of predicting multiplicity distributions at high energies not yet experimentally available. In this description there is a complete absence of any tendency to approach asymptotic KNO scaling below 540 GeV. The approximate scaling in the CM energy range 10–62 GeV is shown, in this framework, to be accidental.